From our other sites
The story
Reports have surfaced that PlayStation Network (PSN) accounts are being broken into even when two-factor authentication is enabled, with unauthorized “child accounts” being added without the owner’s knowledge. According to the original poster, this method has been confirmed since May 2026, and the child accounts cannot be removed through the normal family management screen — victims must contact official support via LINE and are ultimately asked to verify by phone. On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, reactions were split between those questioning the laxness of the security and Sony’s response, and those who shrugged it off as none of their concern.
[Urgent] On PlayStation Network (PSN), there’s a hijacking method going around where someone creates a child account to bypass two-factor authentication, adding an unknown child account to your main account. It happened to me too. I’ll post more once I find a fix.
Follow-up on the unauthorized PSN child account creation. ① This method of bypassing passwords and two-factor authentication to hijack accounts has been happening since May 2026. ② How to deal with it: you cannot delete the child account from the normal family management screen by just unregistering them from the family — the only option is to ask PlayStation Support to delete it. ③ How to check: log into the PSN homepage → Account Settings from the icon in the top right → Family Management (check this screen for any suspicious accounts). ④ How to request deletion: from the official page below (playstation.com/ja-jp/support/…), contact via LINE → after adding the account as a friend, a bunch of irrelevant options come up, so just answer however and when it asks “Did this resolve your issue?” pick “No” → when it asks “Would you like to talk to an operator?”
pick Yes → enter (your name in katakana, email address, phone number, PSN sign-in ID, online ID, email address again, order number of your most recent purchase, console serial number) → when it asks “Is this information correct?” answer yes, it’s correct → get forwarded to an operator → answer your date of birth → you’re told verification can only be done by phone, so you have to call (weekdays 10:00–17:59) = I’ll post a follow-up tomorrow after calling =
Source: x.com / original post here
What people said
I couldn't help but laugh at that part
Lol, that sounds exactly like something they'd do
Though honestly, since 2FA itself got bypassed, it kind of feels like there's nothing you can do
And step ④ is saying that if you've already been hit, calling support to get it removed is the only option
setting up a passkey means nothing if you haven't also disabled password login
way too many people haven't caught on to that
I barely see any services that let you disable password login
Plenty of shopping sites don't even have 2FA, let alone passkeys
Well, the official site literally lists "Recommended support: LINE," so no need to even check — it's 100% real
Because Sony's incompetent
Background and key points of this story
Under PSN’s family management feature, child accounts are designed so they can’t be unilaterally deleted at a guardian’s discretion alone. This is meant to let a guardian use the account to protect a minor from danger — but in this case, that very mechanism has been turned against users: someone who bypassed two-factor authentication creates a “child account” without the victim’s knowledge, which blocks the normal removal process. Deleting it requires phone verification with official support, and the cumbersome process — which starts with an inquiry via LINE — only adds to the victim’s burden.
Within the thread, reactions split between those criticizing the laxness of the security measures and the slowness of Sony’s response, and those who dismissed it as “not my problem” or “no big deal.” It should also be noted that, as of now, the sole source for this story is a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the person claiming to be affected — there has been no official explanation from Sony or confirmation of how widespread the damage is. Readers should keep in mind both that two-factor authentication is not an absolute defense, and that the information available is still limited to this one primary source.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Bad News] PSN gets hacked. Two-factor authentication bypassed, child account created without permission.”
Leave a Reply