 "Wish Microsoft Happy Birthday and win free 'Xbox points', says new scam")
Software giant Microsoft will turn 38 on April 4 this year. And Internet scamsters seem to have devised a crooked way to make good of the occasion.
Microsoft, on its official Facebook page, has warned users against a certain scam that promised users free Xbox points for wishing the company a happy birthday. The post reads, “There appears to be a scam going around that promises free Xbox points for wishing Microsoft a happy birthday today. Please do not respond to it. While our 38th anniversary is this week, there won’t be free Xbox points for the occasion, but we hope you’ll celebrate with us nonetheless!” At the time of writing this article, the post has already received over 1400 likes and 293 shares.
Interestingly, Neowin.net notes that the points that users can buy to download Xbox LIVE Arcade games and other content are called “Microsoft Points”, and not “Xbox Points”.
Happy Birthday, Microsoft!
While this is a scam, the company has given away free Microsoft Points in the past. In October last year, Microsoft introduced its new rewards program to reward gamers for their loyalty to Microsoft’s gaming console – the Xbox 360. The rewards come in three tiers and seem to be pretty miniscule. The first tier, called Contender, is for those with a Gamerscore between 3000 and 9999. This tier gets a “special gift” during the gamer’s birthday month. The website notes that the special gift will be valued at $0.25 (around Rs 13). The next tier, called Champion, is for those with a Gamerscore between 10,000 and 24,999. Gamers in this tier receive the special gift along with a 1 percent rebate on purchases made on Xbox LIVE Arcade for every month. The third and final tier, called Legend, is for those with a Gamerscore of 25,000 and above. Gamers in this tier also get the special gift along with a 2 percent rebate on purchases made on Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Microsoft Points have been controversial as the system never allowed users to buy only the exact number of points required. They can only buy the points in sets of 400, 800 etc. This could prove to be annoying with things costing, say, 200 points. Users have 200 points to spare and they feel as if they have been compelled to buy more points that they needed. Users can still use Microsoft Points for purchases, but the store itself defaults to using real money for transactions in the Windows 8 store. Microsoft had confirmed that this feature will not be making its way to the Xbox 360.
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