14 DAY TRIAL // The gaming industry has rarely been the victim of Internet frauds but it seems that with the increase of popularity for online digital content distribution networks, like Steam or GameTap, hackers have begun exploiting the users of such websites by luring them in with fake promises in order to make them divulge their confidential information.
This is what has recently happened to users of Valve's extremely popular Steam system, which currently has over 16 millions accounts and offers over 500 games, free and purchasable. Some users reported the fact that they got a strange email, from the [email protected] address, saying that they had received a free copy of Far Cry 2 from the Valve corporation. Such a thing makes users more than anxious to check their account and download the game, especially as giving games as a gift is an option used for quite some time by the Steam service.
Customers are then redirected to a clone version of the Steam website, where they are asked to introduce their account username and password, with the promise of downloading the popular shooter for free. Some eagle-eyed users have spotted the fake address, which wasn't the official and secured one that started with http. This phishing scheme, although not really beneficial in terms of money for the hackers, can make a lot of people lose their precious accounts containing a lot of games they paid good money for.
Valve has begun making its Steam users aware of such a thing and has warned them on several occasions that the system would never ask them to reveal their account or password. The company has also requested that Steam account holders should visit the support page where they would find precious tips on keeping their account safe. As a last resort, those who have already fallen prey to the phishing scheme and had their account hijacked, can visit this page where they can reclaim it.
Hopefully, such things won't happen again and users of all online content distribution networks won't suffer any harm from hackers and their schemes.