You have to love all of the new additions to XBL; it's potential and it's future. But it's instances like these which give me pause at the audacity and just plain greed that seems to plague most online communities. You've probably already heard of the free 1600 MS Points fiasco last year. It seems these lowlifes are trying a new avenue.
While I realized what this was. If Batista here had my email that was linked to my 360, he could eventually find the login, look for the MS renewal/purchase emails, and soon be on his way to free MS Points till I realized what was going on. So I gave him a bogus email account and asked him how he thought he "knew" me. The response I got was below.
What jackass here either doesn't know or understand is that I have had the same MSN account since 1997, and I personally know everyone of these people. If someone was missing from my MSN IM, I'd be the first to know.
While it's above obvious that these people are preying on the weak, it should noted that not everyone will be "hip to the skip" in spotting these d-bags. With that said, XBL Phishers may show some of the below characteristics:
- Low gamerscores.
- Low number of games played.
- XBL accounts will generally be from overseas: UK, Germany, etc.
- Tend to be vague on details, or none at all.
- Friends list will either be null/blocked.
These are just suggestions, you should also check their post history via Xbox.com, to see how active they have been in the community. I myself don't have the best post history, but I have made at least a few posts since purchasing a 360 back in Nov of 05. Lastly report these blythe's as soon as possible. If we fail to help govern the community, we may be just as culpable as the criminals themselves.
