Microsoft Investigates Xbox Live Fraud, Hack Reports

Microsoft said Wednesday it's investigating reports of fraudulent activity on the Xbox Live network.

Reports of hackers breaking into Xbox Live accounts and making off with users' points and information have been swirling around the Internet. The accounts are connected to Microsoft's Windows Live ID service.

"Recently, there have been reports of fraudulent activity and account theft taking place on the Xbox LIVE network," said a Microsoft spokesman in a statement e-mailed to InformationWeek. "Security is a top priority for Xbox LIVE, and we are actively investigating all reports of fraudulent behavior and theft."

Earlier this month, researchers found a flaw in Xbox 360 that enabled users to run their own applications or other operating systems on the gaming console. The good news, though, was that Microsoft quietly fixed the flaw with a patch that came out in January.

Microsoft directed customers with questions about the security of their Xbox Live accounts to call 800-4-My-Xbox.