Apparently I signed up for an Xbox Game Pass - news to me!!

[pollenpath]

About an hour ago I found an email from bt.com sent around 17:30 this afternoon saying I've signed up for an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscription and will be charged £12 a month. Problem is, I haven't signed up for any such thing. I've never played on an Xbox in my life! Live alone, no kids, and nobody else has access to any of my account details. I checked the 'Your products' page on my Broadband account and sure enough there's now a section on there for 'Content Partners' and a little box for me to manage the Game Pass subscription I had never even heard of until tonight, and definitely never asked for! I've turned the subscription off, but in the email that came this afternoon it says 'As you've taken a third-party service you've agreed that you want to use it straight away, so you don't have 14 days to change your mind. To cancel this service at any point, you'll have to give us up to 30 days' notice. If it comes with a minimum term, you might have to pay a charge for ending it early. '

How on earth has this happened, anyone got any idea (or had a similar experience)? I can't understand how Xbox knows about my BT broadband service in the first place, or has BT given them my data without my permission? And presumably the initial charge (£12?) will show on my next online bill, which I think is due on Tuesday. I'm not happy.

[garybs29]

I'd change your password etc. Nobody has passed data on etc but sounds like someone had accessed your my bt & placed it so i'd contact bt & ecplain the situation too looking for it to be refunded

[NeilO · Accepted solution]

Hi @pollenpath When you're changing your password I'd also recommend setting up two-step authentication to make your MyBT account more secure. I'll send you a private message so you can get in touch with the moderators if you need any help with this.

Thanks

Neil

[pollenpath]

I can confidently say nobody with any connection to me has accessed my BT account and placed an order for an Xbox subscription. This is something BT has allowed to happen remotely from me without my consent or knowledge, no two ways about it.

[pollenpath]

Yep, changed my password last night before I even posted here, set up the two-step authentication while I was at it. Previously I'd had no idea I needed double authentication, I trusted BT with my data. This bizarre situation has opened my eyes!

[NeilO]

Hi @pollenpath I can assure you BT has not allowed this to happen, but setting up 2-step authentication should prevent it from reoccurring. This has been promoted for a number of years and previously prompts were included asking customers to set it up when they logged in to MyBT, these of course could be ignored. 

Has the email address you use to access MyBT ever been part of a data breach by any other online service that you use? I use the following 'have I been pwned' data breach checker regularly to ensure my email address and password are not on any known databases used by hackers. It's not a BT checker but I do find that it gives the most detailed information on any leaks.

Thanks

Neil

[chrismaharvey]

Hey there,

Exact same has happened to me! 

I logged into BT for first time in ages earlier today, it asked me to change my password + set up 2FA, which I did both.

This evening I know have an email telling me I have set up a XBox subscription, I don't even have an Xbox! 

The BTinterne password box is poor too as it showed the password when I reset it despite trying to use a google safe pw (the random long one).

@pollenpath  you're not alone!

Let's hope this is an error on BT's side rather than our devices have been compromised.

Either way have changed my password again for me and still have 2FA on.

[DavidM]

Hi @chrismaharvey and welcome.

I'm sorry you've been signed up to Xbox without your knowledge. I'll be happy to get that sorted for you. Please check your inbox for my message and drop me over the details.

Cheers

David

[kanesh]

The same things has happened to me too. 

On 19 October 2022, I received an email stating "You're eligible for Xbox Game Pass", This email also said that "Once your new package is activated, we'll send you an email telling you how to claim your pass."

On 28 September 2023 (i.e. approx 11 months later to the above email), I received an email from BT stating "Thanks for activating your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. It'll be £10.00 a month. You'll see this on your bill."

My last interaction with BT was in early August 2023 and this interaction was unrelated to Xbox Game Pass. I don't have a need for Xbox Game Pass and I have not activated Xbox Game Pass. So, I immediately contacted BT and asked for some fundamental facts, including the date and time of the activation, method of activation (e.g. on-line or via phone conversation) and the dates and times of any notifications (prior to 28 September 2023) from BT informing me of the actual activation. Unfortunately, BT could not supply any such information.

[NeilO]

Hi @kanesh It sounds like your MyBT account has been compromised, I would recommend you reset your password as soon as possible and set up two-step authentication 

I'll send you a private message in a moment so you can get in touch with the moderation team and we'll be happy to look into this further.

Thanks

Neil