PSN account hacking is a growing crisis, and most victims don't have the connections to get their accounts back

RealRadec, a prominent PlayStation community figure, had his PSN account hacked over the weekend — attackers changed his login credentials and email, locking him out entirely. The PlayStation support phone line was offline at the time, leaving him no immediate way to get help.

Radec got his account back, but only because of his connections. PlayStation podcaster and ex-IGN writer Colin Moriarty — who had his own PSN account stolen during a livestream earlier this summer — stepped in and used his Sony contacts to help resolve the situation. The two work together on Moriarty's Last Stand Media network. Radec was direct about what that means for everyone else: "It would be foolish of me not to acknowledge that this was dealt with as quickly as possible because of the position I'm in. Not many people have that reach, and I am fully aware of that. This is a problem that has been brewing for a long time now at PlayStation. No one deserves to have their account stolen from them and lose access to all of their games, DLC, save data, trophies, etc. It's not right. This needs to change."

The method hackers are using is particularly alarming. Moriarty reported back in May that attackers can call PlayStation support and verify ownership of an account using basic personal data — transaction dates, names, birthdays, email addresses — information that isn't hard to obtain. Moriarty's producer Dustin Furman said someone they trusted actually replicated the technique on two accounts to confirm it wasn't theoretical. The critical detail: this approach bypasses two-factor authentication entirely, meaning even players who have 2FA enabled are not protected. Stolen accounts are then resold online for hundreds of dollars, giving buyers access to the victim's full digital library, trophies, and save data. IGN has contacted Sony for comment but has not received a response.

The timing makes this especially uncomfortable. Sony has confirmed it will stop producing physical games in 2028, with the PS6 expected to be an all-digital console. That means players will have no physical fallback if their account is compromised — everything they own is tied to a PSN login that, right now, can apparently be social-engineered away from them with a phone call. The community is watching closely, and the pressure on Sony to fix its account security before that all-digital future arrives is only going to grow.