A new day, a new scam. Everyone’s heard of the Nigerian prince gold scheme, so cybercriminals are upping their game.
Scammers now pretend to be popular video game stores, and they use fake sales campaigns to make use of the holidays. If you’re planning to get a new PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch, and you conveniently see a Facebook ad with a huge discount, don’t click. That could be a scam.
Here’s what happened to the Retro Gaming of Denver store and how people got scammed in a fake sale.
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The Retro Gaming of Denver Scam
Retro Gaming of Denver is a popular video game store. It’s been around for a while, and you can get here anything from an Atari or Game Boy to the newest Xbox games. Recently, scammers targeted the store using fake Facebook ads, manufacturing a story that the store is closing down and doing an all-out sale.
When you clicked on the false “Farewell and Thank You” campaign, you got redirected to a fake website: “retrogamingofdenver-sale.com.” Hackers are known to be able to mirror websites to look exactly like the original. In this case, the fake was different from the original. Still, the scammers got a domain that’s quite similar to the original, which is “retrogamingofdenver.com.”
The scam site offered a PlayStation 5, Xbox, or a Nintendo Switch for 91% off, making the offers too good to be true. Seeing a brand-new console on sale for less than $50 should be a red flag, but with the heat of the holidays, some people will go for the purchase. And if they do, they’ll risk a bank drain attack.
How to Notice a Social Media Scam?
The number of scams increases during the holidays. As a general rule, be cautious on social media ads throughout the period. After the Retro Gaming of Denver scam, other bad actors will try to replicate or improve on the concept.
To notice a social media scam, you need to look out for a few common red flags. The first one is a suspicious deal. No one will sell a PlayStation 5 for fifty bucks when the retail price is $500. Another red flag is a suspicious website. Scammers will use variants of the original URL to trick you. They’ll add an appendix like “-sale” or include the word “official” to seem genuine.
If you’re not sure of the URL, paste it into ScamAdviser, which will tell you a Trustscore. You’ll also see when the site was registered. In Retro Gaming of Denver’s case, the fake site was registered ten days before the attack. If you see a young domain, it’s a scam.
Finally, check the social media page where the ad comes from. Don’t let the number of followers fool you. Scammers can buy likes, views, and followers, but sometimes they don’t even go that far. Check the page age, what kind of ads they’re running, and basic admin information.
In Retro Gaming of Denver’s case, the Facebook page names were “PS5-Sale” and “Retrogamingofdenver-sale.” The first one had 265 followers and 247 likes, while the latter had 0 likes and 0 followers. Both of them were quite young, created a few days before the attack.
As for the real owner of Retro Gaming of Denver, they issued a statement warning their customers of the scam. They emphasized the legitimate website and Facebook page and prompted users not to engage with suspicious offers.
What Else Can You Do to Protect Yourself
The gaming niche is filled with scams. Free upgrades, power-ups, cheat codes, and even cracked releases will get malware on your device. There’s also phishing and credential stuffing to make things worse. Protecting yourself comes in two parts: using tools and applying common sense.
Using tools
You need to make your device and account safe before you start gaming. For your device, this means installing an antivirus, a VPN for Xbox or PlayStation, and enabling a firewall. For your account, it means using a strong password and multi-factor authentication. These tools and precautions will keep your device a cybersecurity stronghold.
Applying common sense
Common sense isn’t that common when it comes to cybersecurity. Not everything that you see online is true. In fact, you should approach the web as if almost everything is fake unless you double-check. That goes for websites, social media pages, game providers, emails, and information.
Always purchase games through official game stores like Steam. Don’t provide your personal information to random websites. The same tip goes for free giveaways. Scammers love gathering data on your account from free giveaways, so make sure to verify whether a giveaway is coming from an approved source.
Last but not least, don’t give your account information to other people. Never share your bank details, credit card number, physical location, or even your real name in an online game.
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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