Cyber scammers attacked video game fans more than 4 million times in a year. The most popular were Minecraft, Roblox and Counter Strike

[meetapex]

Minecraft accounted for the most attacks: over 70% of detected malware was for PCs and more than 90% for smartphones. According to analysts, this may be due to the fact that the game allows the use of modifications and cheats, which are often distributed on unofficial forums. Such software often contains viruses that can steal user data or extort money from them.
This year, scammers used more than just installing viruses. Hackers often created phishing sites similar to official game pages, asking players to enter their usernames and passwords to receive bonuses or early access to new products. After which they took the game currency or valuable items, which they then sold.
Players were also offered to download popular games for free or get them at a discount. However, in reality, the scammers simply scammed people out of their payment information and stole money.
Kaspersky Lab experts urged users to buy and download games only from official sources. They also reminded about the dangers of pirated software and entering your data on suspicious sites.
In January-September 2023, the gray market for video games was twice as large as the legal market: resellers earned 4.5 billion rubles, legal retailers - up to 2.5 billion rubles. The reason for the gap is low prices for products, a larger range of goods and faster delivery from intermediaries.