Your Nintendo Account May Have Been Compromised. Here's What to Do Now

Around 160,000 Nintendo Accounts have been accessed since April

by
Rob LeFebvre
Rob LeFebvre
Senior News Editor
Rob LeFebvre has been a freelance technology writer for 10 years and an educator for 20. His articles have appeared in 148Apps, Cult of Mac, Engadget, and many others.
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Rob LeFebvre
Published April 24, 2020
Updated June 10, 2020 11:53AM EDT

It's possible hackers accessed your Nintendo Account, stole personal information, and made fraudulent purchases. Nintendo will contact you directly if so. Protect yourself by enabling two-factor authentication.

Three people playing Super Mario Kart 8 on a Nintendo Switch and two Nintendo Switch Lite consoles.
Nintendo

Update: According to Business Insider, Nintendo has revised the number of accounts affected to 300,000, based on more investigation.

Nintendo announced that approximately 160,000 player accounts have been compromised since April. They recommend that all players with a Nintendo Account enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to secure their data.

How this happened: Nintendo says that hackers gained access to an older login system, called the Nintendo Network ID (NNID), which was used for Wii U and 3DS systems in the past. The company allowed for this older system to connect to the newer Nintendo Account, used for Switch users.

Taking steps: Nintendo has now abolished this connection, making the NNID obsolete (and no longer able to compromise newer accounts). It also recommends (and provides step-by-step instructions for) enabling 2FA on your Nintendo Account.

Nintendo will notify anyone whose account has been accessed via email and will make you reset your password. You'll need to login with a Nintendo Account from now on, not an NNID. If you have used the same password for both, says the company, strongly consider changing one or the other (or both), as your payment information may be illegally used. If you find any fraudulent purchases, you can contact Nintendo immediately.

The big picture: As we all stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, games like Nintendo's Animal Crossing have become incredibly popular, with many people purchasing the console just to play the game. While anyone without an older NNID should be safe from hackers, enabling 2FA is an easy way to secure your account regardless.

Via: The Verge

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