Scammers are increasingly targeting players of popular video games as their next group of potential victims.
Parents of children who play popular online games like Roblox and Fortnite may need to be wary following an influx of predatory criminals on the platform.
Scammers are targeting the games as a way to make money by promising in-game currency as a reward when players click on ads which contain malware designed to harvest log-in information.
They also use fake websites disguised as legitimate shops owned by gaming platforms such as Fortnite, to trick people out of their money.
Scott Hermann warned in a Forbes article earlier this year that scammers often set up fraudulent sites that claim to sell currency to capture users’ logins or credit card information.
Parents have raised concern after noticing fraudulent charges on their cards ranging from a few hundred to thousands of pounds after their children were contacted by criminals online.
Forbes reported that in one case, a child was persuaded to download a screen-mirroring software on their parents phone which captured bank details and other sensitive information.
Mr Hermann also added: “If your children play games on the same phone, tablet or computer you use for business, your device and apps could be infected with malware, and hackers could gain access to your professional accounts.
“In our internal research, we’ve found that more than half of people use the same username and password across their personal and work lives, leaving them vulnerable to widespread cybercrime.”
Ways to protect yourself against these cyber-criminals include setting up added security and enabling two-factor authentication wherever it’s possible to add an extra layer of protection to accounts.
All in-app purchases should be verified and children should not make purchases inside the game with adult supervision.
Other methods include educating yourself and your children about the risks of gaming online, using unique passwords whenever possible and using an antivirus software and a VPN on your devices.
By staying informed and vigilant about potential gaming scams, you can help keep your children and your information safe.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.