Criminals steal crypto from fake play-to-earn games

Scammers stole victims' funds by draining deposits from a wallet that was covertly activated with malware.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned consumers of scammers stealing millions in cryptocurrencies via fake gaming apps.

The criminals advertised the apps as play-to-earn games offering financial incentives to players after reportedly contacting victims and building a relationship with them over time.

The victims were then introduced to an online or mobile game with the view to earning crypto rewards for playing variants of the same game. One of the fraudulent games was to earn money by growing crops on an animated farm.

Before playing, scammers asked the victims to create a cryptocurrency wallet to purchase crypto and participate in the game.

The victims were told the more money they stored in their wallet, the more rewards they could earn from playing.

Once users stopped depositing funds, the scammers drained the wallets using a malicious program unknowingly activated by the victims upon joining the game.

Additionally, the cyber-criminals initiated a secondary scam by telling users to pay additional taxes or fees to reclaim their funds, however, when attempted those funds had also been drained.

Crypto scammers have been cultivating the industry for years hacking innocent players' accounts for their cryptocurrencies.

To protect yourself from scams always create your own unique wallet; use a third-party blockchain and a third-party token allowance checker.

Looking for your next crypto casino? Check out: Bitcasino or FortuneJack.

Written by Isabella Aslam

Reporter

Isabella is an experienced writer in B2B and B2C journalism. Alongside crypto, Isabella writes and discusses the topics of relationships and psychology. Isabella holds a first-class degree in music journalism and often interviews electronic artists and DJs.

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