Phishing and The Danger of Online Gaming

Online Gaming

A little more than a decade ago, many people regarded gaming as an activity for young people; nothing adults would pay much attention to. It is not so clear when all that changed, but with gaming, in particular online gaming, now being an everyday activity for most adults, we all have a new front to defend against internet criminals.

Chances are you indulge in the casual online game from time to time. Whether you are playing on your mobile phone, laptop, or console, it doesn’t make much of a difference. If you play, you have to be aware and put measures to mitigate the hazards associated with your online gaming hobby. Take a look at https://bestantiviruspro.org/review/mcafee-review/ as a solution, protecting you, and having a decent gaming mode.

At the same time, this article will focus not on the software but on the threat of fishing. It seems that hackers can use gamers to infiltrate their computers and get their money.

How Do Gamers Get Targeted?

With so many individuals playing, scammers are increasingly interested in exploiting video games as a platform for practicing their trade. They have an assortment of tactics to steal gamers’ sensitive information and access credit cards and bank accounts.

One common way hackers are achieving this is by creating alternate versions of popular online games. Once you download the counterfeit, it will install malware on your device in an attempt to rob you.

With gaming, once you install or purchase a game, the developer or game company will, more often than not, start sending you to support emails and updates. Scammers also take advantage of this. They can send you some messages in an attempt to have you willingly surrender your account details. These details will give them access to your payment information and other useful online credentials.

Online Gaming 1

Accounts vulnerability

This is made worse by the fact that nowadays, almost all our accounts are linked. Your gaming account will probably be linked to all your social media accounts so that you can share your scores and progress. There is, therefore, a high chance that one of these accounts might also be associated with your bank or credit card.

Once they steal your information, scammers can also steal your virtual credits and online currency. You might be wondering how they benefit from stealing online currency; after all, it only works in games, right? Why then would someone go through all the trouble to obtain game money. Well, that is not entirely accurate; scammers can sell virtual currency on the dark web and get real-world money.

Is phishing the only threat?

Well, the short answer to that question is a resounding no, not by a long shot. Many online scams are linked to online gaming. Scammers are quite creative, and as far as the craft of emptying your bank accounts is concerned, we can safely say they have that game on lock. You can also encounter take over scams and ransomware, not to mention advance fee frauds and full-fledged computer hackings.

How Can You Protect Yourself?

It would be useless to mention all these dangers and fail to enlighten you about how you can defend yourself. While adults are engaging in online games, it is undeniable that children and young people dominate the majority of the online gaming population.

To this effect, parents should therefore pay more attention to what their kids are doing online. Below is a list of the steps that can be taken to make online gaming safer:

  • Always ensure that you use a different email for gaming than the one linked to your important information.
  • Ensure that your computer has the latest and updated antivirus software installed at all times.
  • Please pay more attention to email attachments and email addresses themselves. More often than not, hackers use email addresses that closely resemble the original, but if you analyze them more, it will be easy to notice the discrepancies.
  • Make use of a firewall on your home network.
  • You can also limit the time that children spend gaming; the more they stay online, the more likely they can become potential targets.
  • Avoid downloading cracked software and games from unofficial sites.
  • Try and avoid free versions of games; some of them might contain viruses and malicious scripts.
  • Ensure that your games and applications are always updated.
  • Secure the home wifi with strong passwords to avoid compromised security and bandwidth theft
  • Also, dedicate time to learning how phishing scams work so that you can spot them more easily.

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