I Was Hacked: Article #77, My Journey into the YouTube and Game Industries…
Hi Guys
Here is the update for the last month!
As you can see, I’ve updated the title name to reflect this month’s events. I hope this will entice viewers to click through.
The new articles going forward will also reflect this new title change.
More about the hack later…
09/01/25 — I received a comment today.
I don’t think this YouTuber is a helpful person.🤣
Created a new channel:
The Pursuit Of Hidden Knowledge & Understanding It
@SEEK_KnowledgeUP
There is nothing on here as of yet because the month has been quite horrible.
11/01/25 — new actions are needed on the earn tab:
Payment Page:
Now I need to add a payment method.
It’s set up now. I will update you whenever I have more information about this.
New information in the analytics tab:
The Hack Starts…
13/01/25 — Well, this morning has been busy.
I have been hacked on numerous accounts.
I start day begins at 9 a.m. with turning on the computer and checking my email. While reading my inbox, I began to notice OTPs (One-time pins or Security Codes) from yesterday at 4:58 p.m., which was approximately 18 hours ago at the time of composing this article’s draft.
Here’s the email:
And the date and hour when I received it:
I can recall requesting these pins on a daily basis, but yesterday, at the time, I couldn’t remember requesting them, so I simply brushed it off, and perhaps I did request them but just forgot about it.
I simply kept checking my emails, and when I noticed more of these, I realized that I had been hacked. What’s hilarious is that my email has previously been checked, so I now know that my Google account has also been compromised.
As a result, aside from Google, the first hacked email I checked is for the Epic Games Store. Ubisoft comes next, then EA Games, and finally LinkedIn.
I therefore started working to restore these accounts. I began with Epic Games and was successful in recovering my account. I also added two-factor authentication using the Authenticator app, but there is a chance that this account may be hacked in the near future because the hacker may still be logged in, and there is no way to be certain because Epic Games does not display the user’s username or other relevant information.
Ubisoft would come next, but I’ll talk about that later.
Always check your spam folder, since these emails from Ubisoft and the EA ended up in mine. The hackers flagged these as spam when they compromised my Google account, I wouldn’t notice them when I logged back in.
Since my Google account is connected to my EA Games account, it was a little simpler for me to log in and begin working on it.
My email was replaced with someone else’s for this account. Probably the person who hacked me. I was able to change my email address and add two-factor sign-in using the Authenticator app thanks to the Google link.
However, there is a minor issue with this EA account, which is that I still receive OTPs in my email even though I would prefer to use the authenticator app.
Although I am powerless to alter this, I hope that in the future, EA will figure out this weak link. Similar to the epic game account, this account cannot be checked to determine whether someone (hacker) is still logged in, and it is impossible to know for sure, though, because EA games don’t provide logged-on accounts, their username, or any other relevant information.
So far, my accounts with Epic Games and EA have been restored. There will be more on the Ubisoft account later. As of right now, the account is still unsuccessful.
Next is LinkedIn: (I have two LinkedIn accounts, one for myself and one for my business.)
I attempted to retrieve this account even though I didn’t care for it. But when I log in, it simply creates a new account because the email has changed. As a result, I don’t worry about this account.
However, since anyone can use my account to publish content that is unrelated to me, there may be problems down the road. That makes me a little concerned.
But because I value my second LinkedIn business account, I’ve included it in the two-step verification procedure of the authenticator app and, just for peace of mind, added a passkey.
The LinkedIn page now looks much better thanks to the new images and banner I created while I was here.
I suppose this forced me to do this after all.
To recap, I couldn’t get the LinkedIn page back and the business account is now secure with better images.
Next, I started with securing my Google account.
I assumed that my Google account was sufficiently safe. Since I don’t know how they gained access, I simply began reading through all of the login information and discovered the credentials they used.
I could then block them using those login credentials. Those logins originated in various regions of Germany. They are obviously utilizing a VPN, so I started shutting them down and turning them off. After that, I started protecting my G-mail account by turning on two-factor authentication at this time.
I simply continued to do more of this to secure & protect this account.
Additionally, I looked over the primary Google business account and secured it using the authenticator app and two-factor verification.
Now that everything has been completed:
Ubisoft
This was the most difficult account to get back.
While working on the EA account, I attempted this earlier, but to no avail.
I had to cease utilizing two-factor authentication because of an issue with Ubisoft.
This is the reason I have not used it.
I don’t really use two-factor authentication, but it’s time to start using it again if I don’t want to encounter these issues in the future. Ubisoft isn’t that difficult because I’ve done this with it before, and it wasn’t a hack, but rather something akin to a hack with two-factor authentication.
Ubisoft support was incredibly helpful, and I was able to get my account back. I hope that this time around, it will be the same.
Therefore, I sincerely hope that this time around, two-factor authentication functions considerably better.
I’m glad I have Xbox connected to my Ubisoft app this time around because I can still access my primary Ubisoft account. The hackers had stolen my account and altered the email address and other information, making it impossible for me to access my account normally. However, I can log in and retrieve my account information using Xbox this time: Whoever stole my account is now in possession of the account under this email.
With that information in hand, I emailed Ubisoft customer service to inform them that my account had been compromised and stolen, and that I had no chance of recovering it because they had altered the email address. I’m hoping that this information will be sufficient to restore my account.
This is the automated email that Ubisoft sent me:
“Thank you for contacting Ubisoft Support. This is an automated email to confirm that we have successfully received your request to recover a Ubisoft account. Please note that we are currently experiencing high contact volumes. As a result, there may be a delay in getting a response.
If you have not made a request to recover a Ubisoft account, please contact Ubisoft Support immediately so we can investigate further.
Did you know? If you still have access to your email, you might be able to resolve your issue independently through our Account Management website — where you can change your email, reset your password, activate 2-step verification and more! If you don’t have access to your email, that’s fine — your ticket is opened with us and we’ll reply to you as soon as possible.
Please do not reply directly to this email.”
“Please note that we are currently experiencing high contact volumes. As a result, there may be a delay in getting a response.”
Therefore, due to “high contact volumes,” it will take some time before I receive a response.
I must wait to see what might occur. I’ll provide an update as soon as I receive sufficient information.
It took these hackers about three hours to get access to all six accounts successfully, I’ll share any additional information once it becomes available.
Hit a new milestone today:
10k watch hours in total!!
14/01/25 — An update on Ubisoft:
I haven’t received an email from Ubisoft yet, and I’ve lost access to my account because hackers have removed my Xbox link and all other links. I’ll simply have to wait for Ubisoft to respond.
Weekly recap:
12:35 — New information on the analytics tab:
The hackers strike again.
15/01/25 — I need to reformat this computer since it may be compromised because hackers are attempting to access my primary business Google account, which is linked to my YouTube channel.
Additionally, my personal Google account has been compromised once again, but I was able to recover it once again.
This time the hack came from Ecuador…
This is my main personal account. The one I had just secured yesterday.
Now there is something wrong here. This tells me that my PC is now compromised in some way.
16/01/25 — January month in review:
21/01/25 — I recently sent my third message to Ubisoft support regarding my account being stolen, and I haven’t heard anything from them yet.
Weekly recap:
22/01/25 — I just received this Adsense email:
This is a HUGE milestone.
23/01/25 — I received the money from Google today.😊😊
In the history of the channel, this is the most significant milestone yet.
25/01/25 — I’ve heard back from Ubisoft regarding my account; I’ll update you as soon as I receive more details.
26/01/25 — New milestone hit:
525,000 views have been reached.
27/01/25 — I managed to complete my Windows optimization. I just started working on my avatar and discovered that my profile was not saved. I have to make a new one now. I’ll attempt to make an avatar that is similar to the one I had previously.
21:03 — I was able to recreate the avatar once more, and this time I think I saved it correctly as I had previously believed. We’ll see if it gets saved or if I have to make another one of them at a later date.
28/01/25 — I still have a lot of work to do, but today I started to get obs up and running along with a few other things on the PC. When I first started the company, I had no idea how much I had customized my PC, including adding new code to optimize my workflow process. It was a huge eye-opener for me to realize how much I had done without even recognizing it until I had to reformat my computer. I have now backed up a lot of this process to make it easier for me the next time I need to reformat my computer.
Regarding OBS, I record on a laptop, and fortunately, the settings are saved there. I didn’t have to go back into the settings to get everything set up again because most of the settings were already completed, which saved me time, and I was able to retrieve every scene, so I didn’t have to start over from scratch. These have saved me a ton of time because I only need to attach the file to the scenes rather than worrying about trying to recall how everything was.
Weekly recap:
30/01/25 — I’m busy setting up obs today. I saw that my previous setting has been deprecated, so I need to find out what the new settings are and adjust them. I also need to research the best setting to pick.
I made an Excel spreadsheet with all of Google’s payments. This will make it easy for me to keep track of everything because if I don’t, I’ll forget which payment came in and when.
01/02/25 to 03/02/25 — There was no electricity because the transformer exploded.
02/02/25 — Weekly recap:
04/02/25 — I discovered a direct message from Bert Games, the game developer for “Surviving Skeleton Island” when I logged into Discord today. He asked for my opinion via a direct message. I offered him a lot of feedback and sent him many notes regarding the game.
Weekly recap:
05/02/25 — New information on the analytics tab:
I must admit that even though I have installed all the necessary software on my computer, there is still a lot of work to be done, like further optimizing some software and adding back the profiles on Davinci Resolve and Cap Cut, two separate programs I use to edit my videos for YouTube and TikTok. As a result, I do not have a scheduled time when I will begin my work, as I would normally have.
Since my PC needed to be reformatted. I’ve now given myself a little more time to play around with a new piece of software called AutoHotKey, I would want to give this new software a try because it has the potential to significantly enhance my workflow process.
However, I will need to dedicate a bit more time learning this new tool since I will need to learn the code that will assist me in my workflow process.
Summary of the month:
- Created new channels.
- Being hacked, attempting to prevent it, and securing the accounts.
- Reformatting, optimizing, and installing every application on my computer.
- Learning a new software called AutoHotKey.
- Article title name change.
Almost no work was done this month since I was hacked and my accounts were compromised.
My Goal for this Month:
I am still pleased with the progress I have achieved this month, and I was able to reach the goal I had set for myself.
Nonetheless, I’d want to point out that, while I did an excellent job, I could have done so much more. Although I’m delighted I got so much done this month, it still aches to not have been able to do more.
Here are the stats for January:
Views
Monthly:
Daily:
Watch Time
Monthly:
Daily:
Subs Total 945
I did reach my goal of 941 this month.
I am going to place a goal of 30 subs, we will see if I can hit this goal for next month.
Goal total subs = 975
(This goal might not be hit depending on when I do start normal day-to-day work)
I would want to add two new objectives:
- Reaching the R1000 total
- The amount of time required to attain this payment threshold was determined to be 126 days (18 weeks). This goal is to reach payment threshold before the 126 days.
Goals: Goal = 1000 Rand , Total days =126 (Starting Date 02/01/25)
Total Made = 379.23 Rand (+332.23 Rand from last month)
I’m very certain that privacy considerations will prevent me from displaying this in the future. For the time being, I will, but I’m not sure how long I’ll display this data.
Total days so far: 35 Days
35–126= 91 Days Left
My Goal For Next Month:
As I was hacked and it became a major issue for me, my objective for this month will be to get my computer back up and running with a normal workflow routine. I’d also like to have a more efficient workflow with AutoHotKey, which allows me to perform specific tasks at faster workflows.
My normal goal for each month:
My objective is to be able to play the games that the creators provide me and finish them while posting two short videos every day.
For this Month:
This is what I managed to achieve:
Subs: 945 (+34)
If you are a gamer and like to watch these videos…
Please consider subscribing to the channel and to get the notifications 1st, make sure to hit the Bell Icon!!
Here is a link to the channel:
Read Head Gaming Studios:
RedHeadGamingStudios (RGS)
RGS Gaming:
RGS GAMING (RGS)
And that’s it!!
If you are reading & enjoying “My Journey”. Please consider subscribing to this and / or checking out the YouTube channel
Here is a link to it:
Here is a link to all the different accounts if you are interested please go have a look:
Learn more on : patreon.com/SKULLpturedGaming
Thanks For Reading!!
If you find this article engaging or are interested in my other content, and find it inspiring or motivating, and would like to see me succeed or even to see new content coming before others do!! Please consider buying me a coffee or even a $1 tip… Which can make anything happen!
From the creators who have helped me:
With Rennes advice and the help he has given me, I hope to do better!!
More on Rennes please go to My Journey into the YouTube and Game Industries… Month 67
“Anyway, do that and you’ll start seeing great follower growth. It’s true that a lot of those followers won’t interact with your stuff- but don’t think like it’s supposed to be everyone reading everything. That’s silly. Instead, think about it like advertising- they’re all now going to see your articles from time to time on their feed. That’s free advertising. If 10 people out of every 100 click, be that’s a 10% conversion rate. In advertising, 10% is pretty standard. Don’t think small- reach for 10,000+ followers.”
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