Are YOU using a stolen XBox 360?

I hope not, Microsoft don’t like it… You may recall I had my XBox 360 stolen earlier in January. Well today I received an email in my inbox that was a little odd; in the “hello, we’re the bank and want to know why your card has just been used in Japan” style odd. After checking it for being a hoax or phishing email (I even went to the XBox Live website to confirm the phone number) I gave them a ring. First though, here’s the email:

Dear James,

We are trying to reach You to verify Your Xbox 360 console serial number, because another customer has called in wanting to register the same number.

It would be very helpful, if You could call us back and let us know, if You have sold or given Your Xbox away. If that is not the case, maybe we have the serial number written down incorrectly. Could You verify the 12-digit number on the back of the console (under the bar code, usually ending in 05).

Please give us a call back or reply to this email.

Best wishes,

Xbox Customer Support

So I gave them a ring. It was a freephone number, which is good considering I spent about 90% of the call on hold. Amusingly my call was routed to the US where a nice helpful person took my details and gave me a bit of a help when I got my address wrong and couldn’t remember my phone number. Top tip: when you move house, update your XBox details too!

So far the call was fairly routine and getting a little tedious. This soon changed when I mentioned my 360 had been stolen, not sold or given away. I had to have my call escalated to a supervisor - who seemed to be Danish, just where is my call going? - he took some more details, including my correct phone number, and said I would be called within 48 hours as this was very important and they would need some more information from me.

Looks like the new owner of my stolen XBox 360 has just kicked the giant wasps nest known as Microsoft. I hope they’ve got their receipt, I’ve got mine with the serial number on, and a crime reference number from the police.

I hold no hope of anything much happening except the 360 being banned from XBLA, but still… it’s interesting to follow.

Tags: blog365, Microsoft, thieving bastards, XBox