Ah yes, the ‘hackers’: Kids’ apparent Xbox Live splurge excuse goes viral online

A mother was forced to chase tech giant Microsoft for 11 months after her sons’ Xbox Live account was hacked and the fraudster made off with almost £240 ($310) of FIFA gaming points. Not everyone online was convinced by the tale.

Lesley Urwin of Elgin, Moray in Scotland received quite a shock last March when she was charged for three lots of Xbox Live points at a cost of £79.99 each.

Understandably, she immediately investigated the charges by interrogating her three sons Nathan (17), Liam (14), and Scott (nine), but no one knew anything about it! So, the account must have been hacked.

Urwin claims Microsoft repeatedly led her in circles trying to track down the unscrupulous hackers before finally telling her that there were no signs of fraudulent activity on her account. 

“The boys have had no Xbox Live for nearly a year as a result because I won’t let them log in,” Urwin said. 

“I am fed up fighting and I want to warn others. None of this is our fault.”

Eventually, Urwin found additional devices had been registered to the account and she deleted them at the same time as removing her credit card details. 

Microsoft said they would issue her with a refund but she could not locate the funds in either the Xbox Live account or her own personal bank account to which it was linked.

The company reportedly managed to trace the source of the hack to an IP address in Warrington in Cheshire but the culprit has yet to be brought to justice. 

While that is the current official account of events, not everyone online was so convinced. Enter the trolls, troublemakers and memesmiths.

“I’m in tears. He’s genuinely kept up with this lie to the point where it’s made the news. Kid’s got ice in his veins,” one commenter’s viral reaction read. “That's the face of a boy who is 36,000 Fifa gaming points richer,” another added.

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