FIFA 12 update coming today – could fix annoying FIFA hack

If you read the above headline, and the first thing you thought was “What in the blue hell is a FIFA Hack,” then the good news is that this update likely does not concern you – and, even better, you still have all your own money.

However, must people that have heard of it, should now be happy EA seems to be finally tackling the problem.

So what exactly is a FIFA hack then? Well, at its core, it means someone gains access to your account (usually on 360), uses MS Points you already had (or a credit card attached to your account to buy more), and then buys gold for the FIFA Ultimate Team card game in Fifa 12 using you money. They then trade these items away, and leave you with nothing.

If you got hacked, then not only were you out some money – but victims of the hack usually ended up having their Xbox Live account suspend for about a month as Microsoft dealt (rather slowly) with things.

People who never even played FIFA 12 on their own console seemed vulnerable to the hack too – due to a multitude of reports on various forums. It all seems rather nasty.

This however should change today, when EA patches FIFA 12 to make it much harder to illicitly drain you wallet. The changes means it will now only be possible to send trade offers to people on your friends list in FIFA Ultimate Team, and on entering FUT on a console for the first time after the update, player will be required to provide a unique answer to a security question.

None of these updates really stop people getting access to your account (should they really want to) – but it makes it much harder to trade away the items, which would be the reason they wanted access in the first place – thus is should put stop, or at least roadblock, people trying to use the hack.

EA comments: “We are immensely proud of the huge, passionate community that has built up around FIFA Ultimate Team and we’re committed to providing it with the value and support it deserves. The upgrades we are announcing today are just one part of a continual and expanding commitment to the service we provide our community, and right at the heart of a great community is the security of its members.”

The patch will release first on Xbox 360 on March 13, and on PS3 March 14.

Read EA’s full comments on the patch here.