Cyber Criminals Targeting Gamers

Posted on May 19, 2006

Spammers and criminals always try and ruin everyone's fun and online gaming is no exception. A VNU article says cyber-criminals are targeting gamers' virtual assets with malware. Games that convert virtual cash to real money are especially targeted by cyber-crooks.

The criminals are trying to rob players of virtual assets obtained in the games, such as 'money' that players can use to buy weapons and goods, according to security firm Panda Software.
Given the effort required to obtain these items, there are many people prepared to pay for them as an easy way to reach higher levels and increase their reputations.
As a result, the virtual economy of the game translates into real profits for the cyber-crook, even more so with new games that allow real-world funds to be transferred into the game for use in the virtual world.
According to Panda, the malware that most frequently affects games are Trojans. In one example the Lineage virus steals player log-in details, allowing another player to steal virtual money to buy weapons, privileges or abilities within the game.

The article mentions a couple specific viruses that target gamers like the Legmir Trojan that targets Legend of Mir gamers and the Trj/WoW virus that targets World of Warcraft gamers. More details can be found in this press relase from Panda Software.