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Reports of child accounts that nobody remembers creating showing up in PlayStation Network (PSN) family management have been piling up in Japan and abroad since late October 2026. According to GAME Watch, the reports cluster from October 6 onward, and Sony told the Sankei Shimbun that the matter is under investigation. There has been no official statement from Sony Interactive Entertainment as of October 27, 2026.
The awkward part is that PlayStation’s official support pages state plainly that “you cannot remove a family member (child) from a family.” A child account someone else added without your consent cannot be deleted by you, the family manager. The only way to get rid of it is to contact PlayStation Support.
This article separates what the official support documentation says from what the press has reported, covering what is happening, where to open the family management screen, what to do if you find something, and whether two-step verification was actually defeated. I own a PS5 myself, so this is not somebody else’s problem.
Start with what is actually being reported.
What Is the PSN Unauthorized Child Account Problem, and What Is Happening?
Reports are mounting on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit of multiple child accounts registered to a PSN account’s family management that the owner never created. GAME Watch says the incidents date from October 6 onward and also reported a screenshot showing six child members added, apparently accessed from overseas. As of 6 PM on October 26, GameSpark was relaying multiple reports from Japan and abroad along with a post from an overseas user who received a notification email about a sign-in ID change.
| Item | As of October 27, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Symptom | Child accounts the owner never created appear in family management |
| Accompanying symptom | In some cases a notification of a sign-in ID (email address) change arrived |
| When reports appeared | Clustered from October 6 onward (GAME Watch). Separate account takeover reports overseas in early October |
| Regions | Both inside Japan and overseas |
| Sony’s response | Told the Sankei Shimbun it is under investigation. No official statement from SIE |
| Cause | Unidentified. Users report that two-step verification was bypassed (not verified) |
So what is the harm in a child account simply sitting there? According to official support, a child account cannot register a payment method or top up a wallet, but it can make purchases from the family manager’s wallet up to the spending limit the manager has set. In other words, if the manager’s wallet has a balance and the spending limit is not set to zero, there is room for a stranger to go shopping. On top of that, you should suspect that control of the account itself may have been taken.
The Sankei Shimbun reports that Sony consolidated its accounts for games, e-commerce, e-books, cloud storage and audio hardware across 2022 and 2023, and that the family setting itself exists only within the game service. Where the attackers are getting in remains unknown.
Where Do You Open the PSN Family Management Screen?
You reach family management on PS5 through Settings and Family and Parental Controls, on PS4 through Settings and Parental Controls/Family Management, and in a browser through Family Management inside PlayStation Account Management. That is where you check whether any member is listed that you did not add.
- PS5: Settings → Family and Parental Controls → Family Management
- PS4: Settings → Parental Controls/Family Management → Family Management
- Browser: sign in to Account Management on PlayStation.com → Family Management
- While you are at it, check the inbox of the email address registered to PSN for any “sign-in ID change” or “email address change” notifications
If you have never created a family, nobody should be listed there at all. Even one name you do not recognize means you are looking at this exact problem. If you did create child accounts yourself, count them and confirm the number and the names match.
What Should You Do if You Find an Unknown Child Account?
You cannot delete it yourself. Contacting PlayStation Support and having them handle it is the only legitimate route. Here is how official support describes removing a family member (child):
Please note that you cannot remove a family member (child) from a family.
Source:PlayStation Official Support
That design normally exists so a child’s guardian cannot simply drop out on a whim, but in this case it backfires in the form of “you cannot delete it.” Here is what you can do on your end while you wait to reach support, in order.
- Change your PSN password. Change the password on the email account registered to PSN as well
- Delete the payment methods you have on file (credit card, PayPal and so on) and check your wallet balance and purchase history
- Turn on the option to require a password at checkout in your account settings
- Check whether two-step verification is enabled and turn it on if it is not. Write down the backup codes
- Contact PlayStation Support and ask them to remove the family members you do not recognize. Record the names and the date and time they were added
If there are charges in your purchase history you do not recognize, you will need to contact your card issuer too. Support lines are obviously going to be jammed, so gathering screenshots as evidence and writing out a timeline before you reach out will get you through the conversation faster.
Was PSN Two-Step Verification Really Defeated?
As of October 27, 2026 there is no confirmation that two-step verification was technically bypassed. Users have reported that accounts were added despite having a password and two-step verification in place, but neither GAME Watch nor overseas security outlets are treating that as a verified fact.
Overseas reporting raises several scenarios, including compromise on the email account side, reused passwords, devices left signed in, and impersonation of the account holder at a support desk. On October 3, RealRadec, a PlayStation fan with more than 30,000 followers, reported that their email address was changed even after a password change, a sign-out from all devices and a reconfiguration of two-step verification, and in May 2026 podcaster Colin Moriarty was reported to have lost his account through impersonation via a support desk. The possibility that the entry point sits outside two-step verification altogether cannot be ruled out.
| What has been confirmed | What has not been confirmed |
|---|---|
| Multiple reports from Japan and abroad of unknown child accounts added to a family | Whether two-step verification was technically defeated |
| Cases where a sign-in ID change notification arrived | The intrusion route (email, password, device or support desk) |
| Even the family manager cannot remove a child account themselves (official design) | How many people are affected, and whether any purchases were made |
| Sony told the Sankei Shimbun it is under investigation | SIE’s official position and any planned countermeasures |
So what you need to do does not change. None of this is a reason to switch two-step verification off, and if you have not enabled it, do it today. On PS5 you go through Settings, then Users and Accounts, then Security, then 2-Step Verification, where you can pick an authenticator app or SMS. Writing the backup codes on paper and dropping them in a drawer is good enough. Until the cause is known, cutting down the number of entry points is all anyone can do. The one thing I truly cannot stand is a stranger spending the money I keep for my faves.
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Summary: What to Do Now About the PSN Unauthorized Child Account Problem
Reports of child accounts nobody remembers creating being added to PSN family management have been mounting in Japan and abroad since October 6, 2026. Sony told the Sankei Shimbun that the matter is under investigation, and there is no official statement from SIE as of October 27. Because the official design means even the family manager cannot remove a child account themselves, contacting PlayStation Support is the move once you find one. Before that, change your password, delete your payment methods, check your purchase history, require a password at checkout and enable two-step verification. Whether two-step verification was defeated has not been confirmed, and the entry point has not been identified.
The heaviest part of this story is not the takeover method but the official design that says you cannot delete it yourself. With the cause unknown, what users can do is look at family management today and lock down every setting connected to their wallet. While SIE stays silent, the entire burden of checking falls on our side.
Opening the settings screen takes less than a minute. When you finish reading, go turn on your PS5.
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Nokko Oda
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