The gaming industry is one of the biggest in the world today, with about 3.2 billion active gamers sprawled across the globe. Among the various types of electronic and digital games in existence, nothing comes close to online gaming, as it is super convenient, offers tons of options with little to no need for storage, and provides a tight-knit gaming community that transcends borders.
To put this enormity into perspective, a recent Statista report disclosed that the global online gaming market pulled in over $26.14 billion in revenue this year alone, marking a 9.8% jump from last year. But while players—be they friends, family, or strangers—are ducking it out for gaming glory, there’s another group in the mix: cybercriminals.
These bad actors aren’t in for the thrill of becoming the last man standing in Fortnite or capturing all three flags in Call of Duty. Rather, they’re in it to steal users’ sensitive data and compromise their systems. Consider this: most online games require your personal information like name, address, and phone number to grant you access. For paid versions, you’ll need to provide banking details, a crypto wallet address, or other digital payment info.
All of this makes you a prime target for identity theft and financial loss. To avoid falling victim to an online gaming scam, you need to understand how scammers operate and how to outsmart them. Here are the top five common tactics to watch out for:
Phishing Scams
Phishing is the practice of sending fraudulent emails to trick the recipient into sharing private information. In online gaming, phishing scammers often masquerade as members of a game’s moderating staff, claiming to have detected suspicious activity on your account or that you have violated a specific rule and your account has been temporarily suspended for review.
To regain access or verify your account, they’ll ask you to click a link in the fake “warning” email and provide your details. But beware—this link redirects you to a malicious site that looks exactly like the official gaming company’s one. Attempting to sign in to your account via that link would only result in your details being captured by scammers.
Once they infiltrate your account, they can make fraudulent purchases, steal in-game items to sell to other players, or even send your personal or financial information to the dark web. Remember, reputable gaming companies won’t ask for your sensitive data through emails. If you get a message like that, check the sender’s email address. It probably won’t match the official game company’s domain name.
For instance, a scam email from someone posing as an Xbox support agent might have a generic address like [email protected] instead of [email protected].
If a phone number is mentioned in the email, reverse search it on Nuwber to see who it is registered under.
Malware Downloads
Online gaming exposes you to a heightened security risk, as you might visit a gaming site or download games from a third-party vendor. One known risk is malware, a software program designed to harvest sensitive data for cybercriminals.
A malware download can be in the form of a phony game update or streaming plugin. You only need to download and install it, and your information is in the hands of scammers. In some cases, clicking a phishing link could lead to a malware download.
How can you protect yourself? Never download files from unknown sources. Only install updates from the game’s official website. Avoid malicious sites as well. Whatever you do, make sure an antivirus program is up and running on your mobile device or PC to protect you from malware and use a VPN to keep your information safe when connecting to third-party sites.
Credential Stuffing
As the name suggests, this cybercrime involves stuffing a stolen list of login credentials to see which one works on a target gaming website such as Blizzard or Steam. This data is usually from other sites and services that use the same or similar account credentials. With automated software, scammers run a series of combination codes until a match is found and then gain access to the victim’s account.
While their success rate in these attacks isn’t sky-high, a successful login attempt could lead to all sorts of mayhem, from ransomware to unauthorized spending. The best way to avoid being victimized is to create unique and strong usernames and passwords for each of your online accounts.
International Call Scams
Phone calls are metered and charged on a per-minute basis, and the margin is usually higher when making calls overseas. However, this high cost doesn’t apply to cyber thieves who have found a way to make free international calls at the expense of online gamers. But how does this work?
Imagine a scenario where you’re offered a free online game, which you download on your smartphone or computer. This game could come with perks that help you build up your collection or improve your ranking. However, the catch is that when you click to download the game, a call is initiated in the background and routed to the scammer’s international destination, automatically charging you for the call.
This is how cybercriminals run up your bill, which can add up to thousands of dollars within weeks. Here’s what you can do to prevent this scam: download online gaming apps from credible sources, such as the App Store, Google Play, and official gaming sites, and be careful of the permissions you give when installing them.
Unlimited Download Scams
If you are promised access to unlimited downloads for games or game add-ons, you’re most likely being offered a scam. This is particularly true for game offers that require an upfront payment. Usually, it’s radio silence after payment, the links don’t work, or you are redirected to a file-sharing site that hosts a ton of pirated game content, much of which can harm your device with malware.
Besides, it’s not safe to share your financial information with an illegal download site, regardless of what you get in return. A $20 or $50 offer isn’t worth the risk. Stick to free, legal gaming apps if buying a game isn’t an option right now, and don’t send money to strangers or sketchy game sites. Again, only download games from trusted sources.
Conclusion
Online gaming scams aren’t going away anytime soon, as scammers are constantly devising new ways to defraud unsuspecting victims. For this reason, cybersecurity should be a top priority for every online gamer, including you.
This guide has outlined crucial factors and tips that can help improve your gaming security and experience, so don’t hesitate to implement them.