If you"re subscribed to the Xbox Live service, getting random unsolicited messages from accounts with no gamer score is something that one gets used to after a while. However, most recently, this problem has gotten so bad that users on Reddit have created a mega thread of over 3,000 complaints regarding this issue.
A response posted by one of the moderators of the Xbox One subreddit details that Microsoft has been contacted and is aware of the issue. The full statement is as follows:
First things first - There is currently a wave of spam bots sending messages to random xbox live users. You may recieve [sic] weird messages from people you do not know. Do not follow any links they send you!
This is a widespread issue, and we know it sucks. We mods [sic] have contacted MS about it, and they are well aware of it, and working day and night to fight against it. In the mean time, each time you get a spam message ensure you report the message itself - Not the account - from within the xbox, and also block the user.
Reporting the message, not the user, makes this easier for the enforcement team to take action. Do your part! These spam rings pop up a couple of times a year, and get squished by MS pretty quick. We have never made a megathread about the bots in the past, but the sheer number of people demainding [sic] one has forced our hands. Please discuss how much you hate robots here and/or in /r/TOTALLYNOTROBOTS
In 2015, Microsoft experienced the same issue and implemented new privacy controls into the Xbox One, allowing users the ability to choose only to receive messages from their confirmed friends, by updating the privacy settings. PlayStation Network users recently experienced a similar influx of spam messages, after a tool was developed that allowed a person to flood a specific PSN subscribers" inbox with millions of custom, or predefined messages.
Spam is one of the biggest issues facing the internet, with Statista reporting that according to its research, over 56% of all emails sent were detected as spam. At the moment, the best thing one can do to limit this issue is to update settings, use an email client with adequate spam filtering, and report the perpetrator as soon as a malicious email or message is received.
Source: Reddit
For more gaming related news and reviews, follow us @NeowinGaming on Twitter.