The FBI warned Thursday that cybercriminals are now using fake rewards in so-called "Play-to-Win" mobile and online games to steal millions of dollars' worth of cryptocurrency.
The FBI explained that cybercriminals do this by using specially designed gambling applications that promise huge monetary rewards commensurate with their previous investments in potential targets who form strong relationships during extended online conversations.
"Criminals contact victims online and build relationships with them over time," the FBI said in a public service announcement from the IC3 Internet Crime Complaint Center.
“The criminals then offer victims online or mobile games, where players are rewarded with cryptocurrency for certain activities such as growing crops on anime farms,” he added.
In order to participate in these huge bonus games, victims need to purchase cryptocurrencies and create a crypto wallet. The scammers told them that the more money the victim deposited into this wallet, the higher the supposed reward.
The criminals then trick the victims into depositing more and more money with fake bonuses, but once the victims stop depositing, their wallets are emptied.
Even worse, scammers tell victims that they can get their investment back by paying additional taxes or fees, but this is just a scam that leaves victims empty-handed even after paying those additional fees.
Players are advised to beware of spam or game invites that promise unrealistic cash rewards. The FBI has issued the following advice to help potential targets defend themselves against such scams:
- If you want to participate in cryptocurrency-based games, create a unique wallet. Inadvertently allowing illegal actors access to your gaming wallet can isolate your holdings of major cryptocurrencies.
- Use a third-party blockchain browser to independently view the balance of addresses in your game wallet.
- Periodically use a third-party token exchange checker to see which websites or apps you have mistakenly granted access to your wallet balance and revoke those permissions.
The FBI urges all victims to help stop these scams by reporting incidents through the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Last October, the FBI also warned of an increase in cryptocurrency fraud known as pig slaughter, as more and more cryptocurrency is being stolen from investors.
Earlier, the FBI issued a warning warning investors to beware of cybercriminals using rogue cryptocurrency investment apps to target their funds.