Last year, video game expenditures in the United States surpassed $60.4 billion, reflecting an 8% surge from 2020. The initial lockdown prompted a staggering 54% increase in gaming-related phishing assaults. Nevertheless, it is not solely the monetary aspect that entices malevolent individuals; it is also the wide array of information that can be pilfered and traded for tangible currency.
Those who target the gaming sphere can steal in-game currency, valuable loot, or even vend entire accounts. Some unscrupulous entities convert game items such as skins or rare artifacts into cash through platforms like eBay. The most important thing you should know is that you can fight online gaming scams
How to safeguard against scams?
1. Use 2FA
This implies that you (and any other individual attempting to access your account) will require two forms of identification for logging in, usually your password and phone number. Normally, you input your password to access your gaming account. Subsequently, your account dispatches a code to your mobile device, email, or through an authentication app. You are required to input that code before being able to access your gaming account. This additional measure enhances the difficulty of unauthorized access to your accounts.
2. Install Security Software
To protect yourself from phishing attacks and avoid scams while gaming, you need a good VPN. With a powerful VPN for gaming you can prevent phishing attacks, protect against DDoS, hide your IP address, and even bypass regional restrictions or bans. Why VeePN? It has a free trial version, a user-friendly interface, 2500+ high-speed servers, and a powerful security system.
3. Verify the Legitimacy
Be cautious when you come across emails or messages that ask for your personal information or account details. To confirm the legitimacy of these communications, independently visit the official gaming website or directly contact the game’s customer support. Refrain from clicking on links shared in unsolicited emails or messages, as they could lead you to counterfeit websites aimed at stealing your information.
4. Download Games from Verified Sources Only
There is widespread availability of free downloadable games, leading to an abundance of fraudulent download links for games and expansions. Recently scammers attempted to deceive people into downloading a fake mobile version of Apex Legends. As a result of over 100,000 clicks within a week.
To avoid falling victim to fake free games or content drops, always ensure that you obtain your games from reputable sources. Also, download games via VPN add on Firefox or another kind of VPN to encrypt your channel. It is advisable to thoroughly examine the URL before providing any sensitive information or clicking on the download link.
5. Regularly Update Passwords
Make sure to use robust and distinctive passwords for your gaming accounts. It’s important to regularly change your passwords and avoid reusing them on different platforms. Strong passwords should be intricate, containing a mix of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. If your password is complex, but you use it often, sooner or later the password will end up on the network. Easy passwords can be easily guessed using the brute-force method. It is important to have both a complex and a unique password. If you are afraid to forget them, you can use a password manager.
6. Protect Personal Information
Please refrain from disclosing personal information, account credentials, or payment details when responding to unexpected solicitations. Authentic gaming companies will never request sensitive information via email, private messages, or insecure websites. To validate the authenticity of any information request, it is advisable to utilize official channels or directly contact customer support.
7. Never Respond to Email or Direct Message Requests
Do not ever reply to email or direct message solicitations from Discord, Twitch, Steam, or other platforms asking for credit card, personal, or banking details. The most effective approach to safeguard yourself is by avoiding disclosing your credit card information or bank account numbers to individuals who claim to represent a video game service or platform. Genuine companies do not request this information via email. Those who do are likely seeking to pilfer your data.
Conclusion
Remarkably, the methods of scammers have not changed much in recent years. At the same time, the human factor still works from time to time, and players are faced with deception. To protect yourself 99% against such tricks, you only need to be careful and use software protection measures like VPN. With such simple security measures, many still fall for the hook of scammers.