Nintendo warns Switch owners to turn on two-factor authentication after a wave of unauthorized logins
- Users report their Nintendo accounts have been accessed by a third party
- Nintendo said is aware of the issue and investigating
- To help secure accounts, it recommends turning on two-factor authentication
After a flurry of unauthorized logins affecting Nintendo Online accounts, the gaming giant is urging users to take extra security measures.
According to a report from VGC, Nintendo is investigating reports from users who say their accounts have been accessed by an unauthorized third party, some of whom say purchases of up to $100 using the cards linked to their accounts.
‘We are aware of reports of unauthorized access to some Nintendo Accounts and we are investigating the situation. In the meantime, we recommend that users enable two-step verification for their Nintendo Account…’ the company told VGC in a statement.
As a result of the logins, Nintendo took to social media to encourage users enable two-factor authentication.
Reports of accounts being compromised comes just days after Nintendo issued a warning to Nintendo customers in Japan, noting that the number of user inquiries relating to credit card fraud had been increasing according to Nintendo Life.
Nintendo has yet to issue a similar warning to players in Europe and the US and it’s currently unclear if users worldwide Nintendo of breaches worldwide.
The increase in reports of unauthorized access of accounts coincides with an uptick in the number of people using Nintendo’s online service and games in general as people are forced to stay indoors to coronavirus lockdown.
An influx of gamers has created problems in recent months, including with Nintendos eShop which went down to increased usage last month.
In an official statement last month the company acknowledged that many of its systems were temporarily down, including its eShop where customers can buy games and other downloadable content.
Nintendo Online is one of several outages across the world as more people work from home due to an ongoing coronavirus panademic
‘Unfortunately, we’re having some issues with our network services. We’re looking to rectify the situation as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,’ the company wrote in a tweet.
The prevented users from signing in, making it impossible to use most of Nintendo’s services.
Similar outages have also affected the platforms of major gaming companies like Xbox which went down last month.