160,000 Nintendo accounts breached

KYOTO, Japan (UPI) -- Hackers have breached 160,000 Nintendo accounts since the beginning of April, the gaming company revealed Friday.

The Japanese-based company said it was tipped off to the breach after users complained of funds missing from their accounts or that their money was used to buy Fortnite's virtual currency.

Additionally, users' nicknames, birthdates, countries and email addresses may have been accessed.

"We sincerely apologize to our customers and related parties for any inconvenience and concern, a statement from Nintendo said. "In the future, we will make further efforts to strengthen security and ensure safety so that similar events do not occur."

In response to the hacking, Nintendo said it is disabling the ability for users to log in to a Nintendo account through older Nintendo Network IDs. The company also said all affected accounts will have their passwords reset.

The company said it will notify the affected users and recommends customers use two-factor authentication to access their accounts going forward.

Reporting by Danielle Haynes