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A new online scam is circulating, targeting users through fake online gaming sites on social media platforms like Discord. Security researcher Brian Krebs has uncovered details about this scam, which involves tricking users into interacting with fraudulent websites to steal money.
Fake Online Gaming Sites Flood Discord and Social Media Platforms in New Scam
The scam involves flooding social media sites with fake online gaming sites, with the scammers claiming support from popular personalities to lure users. For example, one fake gaming site, “Beast Games,” falsely claimed a partnership with YouTuber Mr. Beast. These sites offer users promo codes to entice them to create free accounts and claim $2500 credit to play games.
However, when users attempt to withdraw their winnings, they are asked to deposit $100 in cryptocurrency for verification. This deposit is never returned, and users are left empty-handed.
Scammers May Track Victim Users
A Discord user named “Thereallo” discovered and reported this scam, noting that all the fake websites share a similar pattern. Thereallo also observed that the scammers may be tracking users’ IP addresses and email addresses to prevent them from creating multiple accounts.
They’re tracking my VPN IP across their entire network,” Thereallo explained. “My password manager also proved it. It tried to use my dummy email on a site I had never visited, and the site told me the account already existed. So it’s definitely one entity running a single platform with 1,200+ different domain names as front-ends. This explains how their support works, a central pool of agents handling all the sites. It also explains why they’re so strict about not giving out wallet addresses; it’s a network-wide policy.
Krebs also shared a video exposing the details of this scam.
Users should exercise caution when encountering new, untrusted gaming sites, especially if they seem too good to be true. It’s advisable to avoid engaging with unsolicited links and to verify the legitimacy of messages and links from supposed senders through other communication channels.
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