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With the advent of the vacation period in schools and colleges, cyber criminals are expected to get hands on the most vulnerable target, kids. No matter if you play Candy Crush Saga or Counter Strike, you can easily become a target of cyber-attacks. eScan threat research team points out that there will be sudden spurt in malware attacks due to the various gaming sites used by the kids. 73% of the world's largest gaming platforms have admitted that most of their gamer accounts get hacked frequently during the vacation period. Our internal research studies shows that during this period there is always an increase in the cyber-attacks targeted mainly to kids using gaming or entertainment related sites. With the ongoing vacation season, we expect the attacks to further grow more, but also may extend to mobile device users.
Not just the kids, even adults use gaming cheat codes as they are tempted to use short-cuts to finish the level with high scores. However many of the websites where these alleged codes are available are may infect your device/computer.
Cyber criminals hunt for financial & personal data from various gaming sites for financial gains. Creating a fake payment page of a popular gaming site or copying a sketchy entertainment site or even creating fake online gaming sites with incredibly attractive games, are some of the ways to target unsuspecting or unaware users.
eScan reminds users to beware of gaming scams that may enter through the following ways:
- Asking for personal information by sending irrelevant texts on offers to con
- Offering huge bonuses or lower prices for in-game purchases
- Pop ups from gaming sites requesting to invite friends for more points
- Display of fake advertisements to excite the kids
- Sending fake emails for password reset requests
Consumers must be cautious on receiving unsolicited texts or emails from the gaming sites. It is also recommended to not share personal information with unreliable sites.
Some of the preventive measures to be secured against threats of phishing and malware attacks as recommended by eScan include:
- Avoid clicking on strange email messages sent via malicious web links
- If you're unsure about a link received about your favorite game, type it in your address bar rather than clicking on it.
- Ensure the gaming site is genuine and not a fake site which looks like the original one. Always look for URL with "https"
- Avoid using QR Codes as they can be used by scammers to spread malware, steal personal information or for phishing attacks. They can easily be redirected to a malicious website or application, thus putting your mobile security at risk
- Avoid clicking on any pop-up that appears on the gaming application, especially pop-ups which are displayed on an unknown website
- Do not disclose any account information on the gaming sites when asked by the admin.
- Enhance your browser security settings and be cautious when downloading games from computer or mobile
To enjoy safe gaming experience with your smartphone or personal computer, try the enhanced protection provided by eScan's range of security solutions.