Dangerous Games on The Internet: How to Download and Play Online Safely?

Articles child internet safety fraud student

The virtual world is full of exciting games, but not all of them are safe for users. Cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to "infiltrate" computers and mobile devices to gain access to players' personal information or to infect devices with malware. In this sense, the gaming format can be an ideal breeding ground for potential victims.

Strictly speaking, modern fraudsters have not invented anything new. All their criminal techniques and scenarios were known 200 years ago. If the potential victim is healthy and in control of their actions, they need to be brought out of this state. This is done with either a wow effect (e.g., “you won”) or shock news (“your bank account has been seized”). After that, the attackers move on to the second chapter of the criminal plot “we are friends” and offer the victim to perform some actions they need.

Wow Effect

Gambling addicts know how emotionally one can react to a win. If an invitation to join a new team appears in the chat at this moment, do not rush to accept it and register. If you do this, you may never see your game account again. Without suspecting anything, you enter your login and password for your game account in the usual interface, but an error occurs. The resource asks you to try again later. But when you try again, the message "Incorrect Password" appears. Surprise: the page has been fake, and you have entered authentic passwords, thereby passing them on to the attackers, who are now in control of your game account.

The number of detected phishing resources increased by 21% compared to 2022 (according to Solar AURA). Phishing plays perfectly on emotions. After playing a game that has captured your imagination, you receive an email on behalf of the developer, inviting you to follow a link and claim a bonus on your personal account. Or a game-partner sends you a link with a comment like “download this and go to the new server, it's cooler and all skins and achievements are open there”. Whatever the link is, it is best to avoid such invitations. Tragic scenarios can vary, but they have one thing in common: you will become a victim of attackers. While you are downloading update files, malware and viruses are being downloaded to your device.

Loser Effect

If the game isn’t going well, then you can't count on bonuses, online trophies or a new game level. If your online gaming partner offers to change the settings on your account to get the bonus you want, do not give them your password and login to 'help' you with the settings. If you have never communicated with an online friend in real life, there are no guarantees that there is no scammer hiding behind his avatar. You shouldn't agree to meet in person or give out too much personal information.

And one more thing: gaming accounts should be protected as reliably as bank savings, using all kinds of password policies.

What should the password for a gaming account be? First of all, it should be strong. Do not use birthdays, phone numbers, or any combination of numbers. Simple words (anything in the dictionary) are also not good. Under no circumstances should your password be the same as your login (username) and email, or a variation of it, such as login "user123". The so-called keyboard-walks passwords, such as “qwerty”, even with the addition of digits like qwerty123456 and the like, are not suitable as passwords. Such trivial tricks as replacing the letter “o” with zero, “s” with $, “i” with 1 and so on will not stop hackers either.

To download and use games safely on the Internet, follow a few simple rules:

Before downloading a game, make sure it is distributed in an official way, such as through official app stores or the developer's website. Avoid downloading games from suspicious sites as they may contain malware.
Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your device and keep it updated. This will help protect your computer or smartphone from malware that may be hidden in downloaded games.
Don't let your guard down when registering for a game. Do not share your passwords, bank card numbers or other sensitive information with anyone other than the game's official representatives.
Keep an eye out for game and device updates. Often developers release vulnerability patches and updates to improve app security. Install updates to your operating system and game to keep yourself safe from potential threats.

By following these simple rules, you can download and use games online without any risk to your safety and privacy.