A warning has been published by the FBI in a public service announcement (PSA) regarding the use of play-to-earn games in a scheme to scam users of cryptocurrency funds. In order to extract the funds from cryptocurrency wallets connected to the game, cybercriminals are luring victims with this type of game and then utilizing malware, according to the bureau. It is critical that users exercise caution when engaging in play-to-earn games and ensure that their cryptocurrency wallets are secure.
FBI Issues PSA on P2E Games Scheme
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently warned the public of the utilization of play-to-earn games in fraudulent schemes that target unsuspecting users. The FBI issued a public service announcement (PSA) on March 9, explaining how criminals use these games to lure users into putting their funds behind them.
As per the PSA, the cybercriminals initially establish a rapport with the victims to gain their trust. Then, they entice the users to participate in online play-to-earn games that offer rewards for their actions and to put funds into a cryptocurrency wallet as a staking mechanism.
The rewards promised are proportionate to the amount of cryptocurrency stored in the wallet, encouraging users to put more funds to obtain greater rewards. The games show fake rewards increasing in the cryptocurrency wallet, and the users spend more funds to continue growing their rewards. However, when they attempt to withdraw their rewards, criminals drain their wallets of the deposited cryptocurrency, claiming that more funds are necessary to recover the stolen crypto, resulting in a final theft against the targeted victim.
To prevent becoming a victim of these schemes, the FBI suggests segregating funds, creating gaming wallets solely for gaming purposes and maintaining other funds separated. Another recommendation involves verifying the alleged gains with third-party block explorers to ensure they are genuine and are truly being received in the cryptocurrency wallet. Lastly, the bureau advises periodically reviewing sites that have access to funds in the cryptocurrency wallet and revoking their access to avoid loss of funds from unknown contracts.
The FBI has issued numerous PSAs, including a scam warning related to pig butchering in December and another related to decentralized finance in August, among others.
