What to do when someone logs into my PS4 account

Best answer: Don't panic but act quickly. If you still have access to your account email, immediately change your PlayStation login password. If you've already been logged out and can't access your account skip past going to the bank or a credit card company. Go straight to the source and contact Sony customer support.

• No credit needed: $60 PlayStation Store Gift Card - Digital Code ($60 at Amazon)

Your first step

If you catch the hack early enough you may still have access to your account, so you need to change your PlayStation login password immediately. If you use any other accounts with the same email or ID and use the same password, it would be a good idea to change the password there as well.

However, if you've already been logged out and lost access to your account, contact PlayStation customer support as soon as possible. They will help you regain access to your account and change the password.

There are a few ways to reach Sony PlayStation customer support:

• Call by Phone: 1-800-345-SONY (7669), available Monday - Friday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. PST
• Twitter: tweet @AskPlayStation for help, Follow them on Twitter to start a DM chat
• Online Chat: Contact Support, available Monday - Friday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m. PST, Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m.-8 p.m. PST

Always contact customer support for this type of situation. If it's after hours, contact customer support as soon as they open the next morning. Personally I find calling to be the quickest route to a solution and hearing a human's voice can be reassuring when you're stressing.

What to expect

Sony customer support will ask you about the situation. Some of the questions you should expect to answer are if you've used your account on any other PlayStation consoles, what the original email was when you first made the account, and a way to verify your identity such as the last four digits of the credit card on file or your date of birth. You'll also need to find and confirm your console's serial numbers to prove you are the owner of this system.

Once customer support has all your information, they should be able to easily verify that your account has been hacked and get access back to you. They will grant you a new temporary password so you can log back in.

At this point, it's a good idea to activate 2-step verification and it will be highly recommended by the customer support agent.

Getting a refund

Part of the reason you should speak to Sony before approaching PayPal, banks, or credit card companies is now that your account has been returned to you and secured, the hacker can no longer make charges. You can now approach getting a refund without the worry that more charges will be made.

If any purchases were made while you were hacked, you can speak to the agent about applying for a refund from Sony. It can take a few weeks to process the request, but if you can live without those funds for a few weeks, it means you won't have to involve PayPal, your bank, or credit card company.

This isn't to say you shouldn't go over Sony's head for a refund. According to some PS4 users on Reddit who have experienced this problem, Sony customer support has said they are only authorized to refund you $150 regardless of any additional loss. I can't confirm this as I have yet to find a written policy on refunds while hacked. The one time I was hacked, I had no issues getting a refund, but it had only been a $60 request. If you do run into this situation with a large bill courtesy of your hacker and Sony can't approve the refund, contact your bank.