Credit card details have been compromised but Sony will be liable to cover losses, and Pachter adds Sony will also be ”liable to reimburse” Plus subscribers.
Still worried about your plastic card of monies being scammed? UK consumer group Which? has some clear explanations on credit card fraud.
”Unless you’ve been involved in the fraud or have been grossly negligent – for example, writing down your Pin and leaving it with your card – the most you can be liable for fraud on debit and credit cards is £50, and this is normally waived,” reads the Which? FAQ.
If you believe your card has been compromised then don’t take the chance of it being abused. ”Call your card issuer immediately and cancel your cards. Contact credit reference agencies Experian, Callcredit and Equifax to check no fraudulent applications for credit have been made in your name,” continued the consumer group.
US users are treated more or less the same when it comes to fighting fraud. ”In the US, none of Sony’s customers will have to pay for any fraudulent use of credit information, so Sony will work with the financial institutions to cover any losses,” said Michael Pachter.
”Sony will of course be liable to reimburse PlayStation Plus customers for their downtime. I’m sure that they will provide something (free game downloads or something similar) to recompense customers for the inconvenience caused, which is significant.”
This is more a high profile ‘prank’ against Sony than it is a calculated heist of PSN credit card details reckons the analyst, as otherwise they’d just target a bank.
”It’s really hard to protect against a determined hacker, and Sony’s customers should take solace in the thought that an evil hacker would have been wiser to attack a bank instead of a gaming network. That’s my attempt to say that this was probably the work of a show-off, rather than of a thief,” noted Pachter.
CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, Robert Siciliano, advises you constantly monitor your credit card statements for the time being. ”You should be monitoring your credit card statements as closely as you monitor the scores of the game, as closely as your monitor your email, as closely as you monitor the weather,” said Siciliano.
”You need to know what’s going on at all times regarding your credit card statements, what charges are being made and who is making them.”
”If you receive emails that look like they’re coming from Sony or PlayStation or whoever - emails that you might be accustomed to already receiving from brands you already trust - be suspect,” he added. ”Never click on links in the body of the email.”
Sony are keen to point out that credit card numbers and their expiration dates are the only things compromised, not security codes, significantly reducing the risk of fraud. The bigger threat is perhaps the theft of so many identities.
