The era of mobile games and the challenges its facing of being scammed

Do you spend hours on your smartphone playing games, slaying monsters, destroying the bases of your rivals, or searching for lost treasure? Mobile gaming, or playing online games on a smartphone or other mobile device, is more common than ever.

You don’t think so? More than 2.6 billion people were shooting, racing, and collecting coins on mobile devices in 2021. According to Statista, there will be more than 207 million mobile gaming players in the United States alone in 2021. These figures thrill more than just game creators. With mobile gaming becoming increasingly popular, scammers are also ecstatic.

This is due to the fact that con artists have long used mobile games to defraud users out of their personal or financial information. They use bogus apps and games to target unprotected mobile devices and infect the devices of gamers with malware. And they’re always glad to charge players a lot of money for false power-ups, armor upgrades, and other gaming extras that they don’t intend to offer. The dangers of playing games on mobile devices exist. The fraudsters can be avoided though. Simply identify the most typical mobile gaming scams and take the necessary precautions to avoid them.

Credential Stuffing:

Scammers exploit username and password combinations that have already been disclosed in data breaches and made accessible on the dark web in this attack. Following that, they employ automated software to enter these combinations into the majority of the larger and more reputable gaming websites.

These online criminals are hoping to utilize dating websites to find a mate and access user accounts. Comparing the number of attempted logins to the success rate of the cyberattacks, they don’t have a very high success rate. However, a low success rate is sufficient.

When cybercriminals manage to access gamers’ accounts, they might take their credit card numbers and personal data. They can use this information to make unauthorised transactions on the victims’ credit cards.

By using different passwords and usernames for different gaming verification, you can make it more difficult for cybercriminals utilizing this fraud. They can access all of a gamer’s accounts once they locate a password and username combination that works.

The Malware Problem:

What other risks do mobile games pose? Malware, and regrettably, it’s frequently absurdly simple for fraudsters to install dangerous software on gamers’ devices. All they need to do is persuade players to download a game that looks legal. Instead, when these players attempt to download a game, they either download a version that has been tainted with malware by hackers or actively infect their devices with pure harmful code.

Scammers might be able to remotely manipulate the gamer’s device, log their keystrokes, or access their private communications once the malware has been put on the device. Cybercriminals may get passwords or gain access to online bank accounts or credit card sites through these frauds. You can best protect yourself from these cyberattacks by only downloading games from reputable gaming services like GOG, Steam, or Origin.

Phishing Stuffing:

Today, phishing scams are widespread. Scammers threaten to terminate victims’ bank or credit card accounts in emails or texts if they don’t click on a link to confirm that the accounts are still open.

The link in the email or text sends victims to a fake website that appears to be run by their bank or credit card company when they click on it. They are prompted to provide personal and financial data on the website so that the bank or credit card provider may verify their account. This information frequently includes their password and account number.

The use of phishing techniques is also a strategy used by scammers that target mobile gamers. Gamers will receive emails or texts warning them that their gaming accounts will be suspended if their information is incorrect. To authenticate their credentials, players will be asked to click on a link in these communications.

Once more, fraudsters will use fraudulent websites that request personal and account information from players. Then, scammers either simply take control of their victims’ gaming accounts by using the passwords of the gamers to access the accounts and then changing them to lock them out, or they utilize the financial information gamers submit to access their online credit cards or bank accounts.

Once more, rely on prudence and gut feeling to avoid this con. You won’t receive emails or SMS from gaming firms requesting you to confirm your accounts. Additionally, they would never request access to your financial or personal information through these mails. Additionally, pay close attention to the email address in the “From” field of any communication purportedly from a gaming company.