Safety Measures in Digital Gaming – Must Need for Player’s Protection

In the past, people played games as a way to have fun. Storylines and realism served as the foundation for old-school single-player games. Gaming has undergone some significant changes recently. In the new gaming era, playing video games is more than just for fun - it's also a career for some. People are choosing to make their primary source of income from gaming, and they invest their time and money in gaming platforms. Player interaction and virtual communication make it possible through the multiplayer gaming compliance concept. The possibility of strange behavior and scams increases because of the digital interaction individuals have with each other. The industry implements preventive measures to reduce gaming fraud in online gaming.

Gaming Fraud

The gaming industry, which is expanding with every passing day, offers players a variety of opportunities. The market is rapidly growing in size. Statista estimates that in 2021, the US esports market will be worth $86 billion. The attackers are constantly looking for ways to exploit the system for their illegal activities. Such as identity theft and money laundering, given the market's high level of revenue. The con artists employ a number of novel methods to trick the players. These exploitation techniques have an enormous effect on the online gaming market.

Taking the User’s Account Away

Each gaming company offers a variety of features to the game's participants. These benefits are available for purchase to players with actual money.  The best example is when players purchase skins and outfits for their game characters in CSGO or Fortnite to make them stand out from the crowd. The attackers employ a variety of tactics by providing users with new and updated skins at low prices. With the help of these deceptive techniques, players' financial information and identities are obtained. The cheaters use the identity information they obtained to impersonate other players in order to steal their user accounts from them.

Phishing Attacks

The phishing technique is a tried-and-true way to access user accounts by stealing their passwords and other personal data. This technique was previously used on social networking websites, but now phishing attacks are also occurring in the gaming industry. Fake players are fraudsters using accounts they have stolen by sending a malicious link to the users. To access various bonuses and in-game content, the actual user is asked to click on the URL. When users click on those malicious links, they are redirected to bogus websites where they are asked for their email addresses and passwords. These fraudulent websites are exact replicas of legitimate gaming websites that trick users into falling into a trap and stealing their login credentials.

Taking-Over Player’s Credit Card Credentials

Stealing a player's credit card information is one of the other ways to harm them. In order to attack the platforms' payment modules, the attackers have created new tools and software.  When making purchases with a credit card, the user is presented with a number of promotions. Some fraudulent websites also provide free safety checks and credit card authorizations. Because these promotions sound alluring for their in-game accomplishments, many gamers fall for them. Since all the sensitive data generated by the user's transaction is recorded by the software system, the credit card information is stolen.

Using Cheat Engines to Make Games Work Automatically

By automating gameplay, cheat engines are a brand-new method of stealing money from gaming platforms. This strategy is used to take advantage of the prizes and contests that the gaming companies are offering. The majority of prizes distributed to players today are millions of dollars in cash. Using these illegal tools, cheaters disrupt the game and exploit the engine from their end. One of the most common examples is in shooting games, where AI is used to automatically target other players, causing them to lose the game.

Online Gaming Verification

The KYC process is used to confirm a user's identity before allowing them into the game lobby. The majority of gaming companies use this procedure to reduce fraud and criminal activity in the sector. An extensive identity check is conducted on the user in customer due diligence procedures in gaming to ensure the attacker is not the real player. The procedure includes a variety of validation checks, including age verification in gaming and biometric identification.

Concluding Remarks

With daily revenue growth reaching billions of dollars, the gaming industry is growing. As fraudulent people attempt to use the system to launder money and steal identities, the industry also faces a number of threats. The majority of gaming companies take precautionary measures to ensure player safety when playing online. To ensure the player's credibility and prevent attackers from accessing system resources, they verify the user using a thorough KYC identity verification process.