The online gaming world is a community of millions of users that use these platforms for entertainment and social purposes. With the rise of the pandemic, online gaming platforms saw an unprecedented increase in gamers willing to pay top dollar for their gaming experiences. Many were and are willing to spend thousands of dollars on immersive upgrades such as cosmetics, loot boxes, skins, and even costumes. Some of these items are also quite profitable in our real world, costing thousands of actual dollars.
The growth in the trend of purchasing in-game items has also seen an increase in scammers attempting to harvest these rare digital objects through the use of gaming accounts and specialized social tactics. Of course, scammers are hardly just after the digital treasuries a gamer holds. In most instances, they also want to make use of the PII associated with a gamer’s Steam and Battle.net accounts. Usually these personal identifiable information pieces consist of phone numbers, physical and email addresses, credit card numbers, and transaction logs. Even those that don’t spend a great deal of money on in-game upgrades can still fall prey to these scam artists. Try this safe gaming site: 먹튀검증커뮤니티
Unsuspecting gamers are easily fooled by these malicious attackers by using some or all of the following tactics:
*Phishing scams that consist of emails or private messages where a link is sent and login credentials compromised. By knowing your login details, a scammer can strip accounts of valuables and sell them again at a high bidding price.
*Fake gaming apps that either promise exclusive content or freebies. Usually, these apps are malicious pieces of spyware that harvest personal data or wipe a computer clean.
*Trading or purchase propositions for expensive digital items are also often scams. A gamer will claim they wish to send funds via PayPal to reimburse you for your items. Though the initial payment will get released into your account, the scammer will then dispute the charges and void the transaction.
How To Protect Yourself Against Common Scams
A strong and unique password on your online gaming profile is the first step to creating a scam proof account. The following are also additional ways you can protect yourself:
1. Use a two-step authentication factor when logging into your accounts, and make sure to regularly update and change your passwords.
2. Install security software on your Internet-enabled device to weed out malicious apps and phishing scams.
3. Update your personal privacy settings on your gaming accounts. This allows you to have complete control over how much information the public gaming community sees about you in your profile.
4. Always log out of your account when using public WiFi or a shared mobile device.
5. Never click on unsolicited emails, especially those where you don’t know the sender. Many suspiciously ask you to click links or verify your personal information while actually being scams.
6. Always download any apps or extensions directly from the official source.
7. Never give out financial or personal information to gamers you’ve just met in an online setting.
8. Always make your gaming purchases from the official source or website as well.
9. If you suspect any type of fraud or you have a fear of getting scammed, always report it to the gaming platform.
10. If someone contacts you and claims they’ve accidentally reported you, don’t indulge them. They will proceed to tell you that you will need to contact an official representative through the gaming platform to resolve the problem.
