160,000 Nintendo accounts possibly hacked, NNID sign-ins disabled

The huge Nintendo account hacking spree is much worse than we thought: Nintendo now confirms up to 160,000 users accounts may have been compromised.

Earlier this month, Nintendo confirmed user accounts were getting hacked left and right, leading to credit card fraud and access to sensitive data. Now the games-maker says as many as 160,000 users could've been hijacked across the globe. Hackers were able to glean sensitive data from users like name, date of birth, gender, country / region, and email address.

Nintendo has turned off legacy Nintendo Network ID sign-ins to help curb the infiltrations, and also manually reset passwords. The company advises consumers to use two-factor authentication to protect their data.

There's an extra step you can take beyond 2FA, though. Be sure to also remove any payment or billing info from your account. Unlink any credit or debit cards from your account, and only put in your CC info when you buy a game. Don't save it. Also turn off any recurring billing cycles and treat the digital store as an actual retailer, buying only piecemeal purchases without saving your payment info.

Now isn't the time to take unnecessary risks with your finances.