Of all things hackable, I thought that my Xbox gamer tag/profile being stolen was the last thing I had to worry about. Below is a quick description of what happened and a warning that this can apparently happen to anyone.

The other night when I turned on my Xbox, my profile didn't sign in automatically like it usually does. I got a message saying that it wasn't a valid account when I tried to sign in. It also said to try recovering my ID. I then tried to recover and after I entered my email and password, a window opened saying Invalid ID. I then tried to log on to xbox.com and as soon as I logged in I was forced into creating a new profile. I then had my friend check my status. He said that I was last seen 8 hours ago playing Fifa 12. I was at work at that time and have never owned or played any Fifa games. i then went to the support page on xbox.com and chatted with a support agent who then told me to file an Unauthorized Access claim with a billing agent. After about 30 minutes on the phone with billing answering all sorts of questions about the information I used to sign up for Xbox live and my console id and serial number and non Microsoft sites I have used my live email for. My claim was filed and I was told that it could take up to 25 days to have my gamer tag back. They locked my account and from what I understand, who ever gained access to my gamer tag changed my email, password and security question associated with my account. I had 1700 MSP on my account, that I hope I don't lose (good thing I use prepaid cards and not a credit card for MSP or Live). The email address that I use for Xbox live is only used for Xbox related things (xbox.com and Call of Duty Elite are the only sites that are used outside of Xbox Live) and I have other email addresses that I use for everything else. Hopefully it gets resolved soon and I get everything back. I don't know why it would take so long to resolve. I have a lot of time (over 3 years 14000 gamer score) and money invested in my xbox/profile.

Kinda like getting your WoW account hacked. Don't worry, in a week or two's time, you'll get your stuff back.