How to spot a gaming scam
According to the Blockchain Gaming Alliance (BGA), a majority of people still think the Web3 gaming industry is rife with scams and con merchants.
In its 2023 State of the Industry report, the BGA highlighted survey results showing that almost three out of four people believe that blockchain gaming is a scam — and have done so since the industry emerged.
“Since 2021, respondents cited that the biggest misconception surrounding all of blockchain gaming is that people assume it is a scam or a Ponzi scheme. In 2023, 70.0% agreed that this was still the top fallacy about the industry.”
It may be a fallacy overall, but while the industry overall is on the level, the ease of stealing crypto does attract grifters with questionable intentions. They’re not blockchain games, though — they’re pretend games out to rip people off.
BGA State of the Industry Report. (Blockchain Gaming Alliance)
The FBI warned gamers earlier this year about sneaky criminals using pretend Web3 games to snatch people’s crypto. They reminded gamers about fake games that lure in users with promises of cash if they connect their wallet, and then, bam, they steal all your crypto.
In another notable example, CertiK recently shared with Cointelegraph that the team behind the FinSoul gaming project had pulled off an exit scam by reportedly swiping $1.6 million from investors.
The FinSoul team allegedly hired actors to pretend to be its executives, then raised funds for the apparent purpose of developing a gaming platform. Instead of creating the platform, the team allegedly just siphoned off $1.6 million in bridged Tether from investors to their own accounts.
So, how can gamers stay safe when diving into a new Web3 game?
According to Martin Peko, co-founder of Wallet Guard, gamers should always have their guard up when it comes to invites for pre-release games.
Speaking to Magazine, Peko points out that while it might seem tempting to hop on board early with…
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