Skip to content
NetarxImpact Database
Insider RecruitmentNo AI reportedReported

Hacker bribed a Roblox support contractor to access user data and reset accounts

Roblox Corporation · Gaming & Casino · United States · May 2020

What happened

A hacker bribed a Roblox customer support representative, listed publicly as an in-game support contractor, to obtain access to the company's customer support panel. The panel exposed personal data on Roblox's user base and allowed password resets, removal of two-factor authentication, account bans and data changes. Roblox said it acted immediately, notified the small number of affected customers, and reported the hacker to HackerOne.

How the deception worked

The attacker skipped Roblox's perimeter entirely and bought a person instead. He identified a support contractor via LinkedIn and paid them for access to the internal customer support console, which was designed to let agents administer any account. With that console the attacker could read email addresses, force password resets, strip 2FA from targeted accounts, ban users and alter records, including for high-profile creators. He used it to change passwords on two accounts and take their in-game items. Roblox had earlier denied him a bug bounty payout over suspected malicious activity, which appears to have preceded the insider approach.

AI involvement · No AI reported

No AI involvement was reported.

The control that would have caught it· our reading, not a claim from the sources

Support consoles that can reset any account need per-record justification, least-privilege scoping and anomaly alerting on bulk or high-profile lookups, so a single bribed agent cannot become a master key.

Sources (2)

  1. Hacker Bribed 'Roblox' Insider to Access User Data
    Vice / Motherboard·vice.comOpen ↗
  2. Hacker Bribed Roblox Worker For Access To Users' Personal Data
    GameSpot·gamespot.comOpen ↗

This entry summarises public reporting. It is not a legal finding, and details can change as investigations conclude. Found an error? Send a correction.