14 DAY TRIAL // Making purchases from untrusted online stores is risky business these days. This is the lesson learned by 1,341 Natural Selection 2 players who had their keys deactivated on Steam after the game’s developer noticed they had been purchased with stolen credit cards.
The developer of Natural Selection 2, Unknown Worlds Entertainment, discovered the incident after being notified by credit cards issuers that their customers had initiated chargebacks on some payments.
Unknown Worlds Entertainment didn’t receive any money for the game and, in addition, they were forced by the credit card issuer to pay a fee for each of the chargebacks. The total amount paid by the company for the 1,341 keys is around $30,000 (23,000 EUR).
In addition the company also lost $25 (19 EUR), representing the price of the game, for each of the illegal transactions.
The most plausible theory is that fraudsters purchased the Steam keys from legitimate stores using stolen credit card information. To monetize their scheme, the criminals sold the keys via shady websites to unsuspecting players.
“Right now there are only two official places to buy Natural Selection 2; through Steam or through our website via the Humble Store,” the company’s representatives said in a statement.
“If you see Natural Selection 2 available anywhere else — like the many sites out there that sell Steam keys at a discount — then you are not buying it from us and there is no way to know if that key is legitimate. As as result, we strongly discourage purchasing from these sites.”
The company informs customers that they will post a public notice in case Natural Selection 2 will be distributed via other stores. In the meantime, gamers are advised to check out the list of authorized stores before making a purchase.