Twitch responds as streamers claim they were hacked with payout methods changed

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Twitch is addressing reports of streamers being hacked, where attackers changed their payment details, sometimes after making large, unauthorized donations to the channel.

Starting in 2026, some Twitch streamers discovered unauthorized changes to how they receive payments. They found their bank account details and PayPal links had been altered to accounts they didn’t recognize.

Several smaller Twitch streamers discovered they’d been hacked, even though they had two-factor authentication enabled. The hackers managed to get around this security measure.

Streamer Kiona expressed disbelief and tagged Twitch, asking for an explanation after experiencing a suspicious attack. Another streamer, Sasuga Reina, explained she’s been closely monitoring activity since being targeted by a fraudulent subscription bot raid and has already contacted support. She urges anyone else affected to check their payout details right away.

Although I didn’t experience any unauthorized streaming or ‘Prime botting,’ someone altered the payment information linked to my Twitch account. I had taken precautions to protect it, including enabling two-factor authentication, verifying my account with a mobile number, and setting up email notifications for any account changes. I received an email alerting me to a change, and it instructed me to…

— Mysti ♡ Dinosaur VTuber 💜🦕 (@HimeMysti) January 5, 2026

Twitch streamers have payment methods changed

Several streamers experiencing the problem reported reaching out to Twitch support, and the platform also released a public statement addressing it.

I saw they responded to Zach Bussey about the problem, and it sounds like they’re on it, trying to figure out what happened quickly. It’s good to hear they’re looking into it!

“We recommend that all users contact Support if you believe you’ve been impacted.” 

We know about this problem and are working hard to figure out what happened. If you think you’ve been affected, please reach out to our Support team:

✉️:

— Twitch Support (@TwitchSupport) January 5, 2026

Several streamers have said they didn’t receive useful assistance from Twitch support, even after reaching out for help. One streamer, DJTICKLE, explained, “Support just logged my issue without offering any real help or response, which would have been appreciated.”

Honestly, when I reached out for help, the person I spoke with just didn’t seem to care. They told me they couldn’t assist me directly and promised to escalate the problem via email with a high priority. But… I never actually got that email. It’s super frustrating!

Like others have pointed out, these account takeovers happened after a sudden increase in subscribers, even though the accounts weren’t actively streaming.

VTuber FoxxyLilly was among the first to notice a sudden surge in new subscribers, but confirmed her payment methods haven’t been impacted.

It’s still unclear whether this problem will become common and impact popular Twitch streamers.

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2026-01-06 14:19