Fans of HBO's 'The Last of Us' who want to play the video games the show is based on should make sure that they are downloading them from official sources.
This is because cybersecurity experts are issuing warnings over two separate video game scams that have been targeting fans of the series. One scam downloads malware onto a device, and the other can potentially steal a person's credit card information, according to the experts
Researchers at Kaspersky have shared details of the scams with technology expert Prateek Jha from VPNOverview.
The Kaspersky researchers said: "Gamers are a popular target for cybercriminals because, in addition to personal information, passwords, and bank card data, scammers may steal their gaming accounts with internal currency and rare skins, for example, using stealers."
The first of the two scams involve a website offering 'The Last of Us Part II' for PC download. Anyone who attempts to download this fraudulent game will get malware on their device.
A PC remake of the original first part of The Last of Us is slated for a March 2023 release; both games are currently exclusive to PlayStation and are not available for download.
The second scam involves a website that offers an activation code for 'The Last of Us' on PlayStation. The phishing site bundles the code with a 'gift' such as a PlayStation 5.
To receive the code and the gift, users must pay a commission fee by entering their credentials and credit card data.
"Cybercriminals actively lure their victims with trendy games: for example, by offering a free download of a game that may be very expensive on Steam, or by distributing games that have not yet been officially released," Kaspersky said.
"And not just games – gamers can download something that looks like Discord from a third-party site but will actually turn out to be malware.”
Prateek added: " The best way to stay ahead of such scams is to exercise caution and only download video games from official sources and trusted websites.
"If you come across any deals that seem too good to be true, do a quick Google search to check out their legitimacy."
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