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The Internet Games

Scammers Unleash Flood of Slick Online Gaming Sites (krebsonsecurity.com) 27

Posted by BeauHD from the PSA dept.
Brian Krebs writes via KrebsOnSecurity: Fraudsters are flooding Discord and other social media platforms with ads for hundreds of polished online gaming and wagering websites that lure people with free credits and eventually abscond with any cryptocurrency funds deposited by players. Here's a closer look at the social engineering tactics and remarkable traits of this sprawling network of more than 1,200 scam sites. The scam begins with deceptive ads posted on social media that claim the wagering sites are working in partnership with popular social media personalities, such as Mr. Beast, who recently launched a gaming business called Beast Games. The ads invariably state that by using a supplied "promo code," interested players can claim a $2,500 credit on the advertised gaming website.

The gaming sites all require users to create a free account to claim their $2,500 credit, which they can use to play any number of extremely polished video games that ask users to bet on each action. At the scam website gamblerbeast[.]com, for example, visitors can pick from dozens of games like B-Ball Blitz, in which you play a basketball pro who is taking shots from the free throw line against a single opponent, and you bet on your ability to sink each shot. The financial part of this scam begins when users try to cash out any "winnings." At that point, the gaming site will reject the request and prompt the user to make a "verification deposit" of cryptocurrency -- typically around $100 -- before any money can be distributed. Those who deposit cryptocurrency funds are soon asked for additional payments. However, any "winnings" displayed by these gaming sites are a complete fantasy, and players who deposit cryptocurrency funds will never see that money again. Compounding the problem, victims likely will soon be peppered with come-ons from "recovery experts" who peddle dubious claims on social media networks about being able to retrieve funds lost to such scams. [...]

[T]hreat hunting platform Silent Push reveals at least 1,270 recently-registered and active domains whose names all invoke some type of gaming or wagering theme. Here is a list of all domains that Silent Push found were using the scambling network's chat API.

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Scammers Unleash Flood of Slick Online Gaming Sites

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  • Cryptocurrency stay winning (Score:3)

    by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2025 @07:45PM (#65556514)

    It's so good for humanity that it fulfilled it's promise and took down the big banks and the Federal Reserve and definitely did not enable a world of online scams, rug pulls and personality grifting.

    Man I just can't stop listing off the ways cryptocurrency has brought us real utility in the world. All those ways like... i can mail order illicit drugs now and... umm... the President of the US was able to make a few billion from his supporters and...umm... all those people got rich! That's good right!? Our meritocratic world mean that means they were the best and brightest right?

    What's that now?

  • They have property you can sue to recover winnings.

    And they are smart enough to know that a constant stream of 10% from 90% of people, 9% breaking even and 1% doubling their money will bring in far more cash than a short term 100% take.

    Stupid to do it online.

    • I don't think the casinos lie to or scam their customers. They do manipulate though.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      If casinos have almost guaranteed income, how did the Cheeto in Chief manage to bankrupt not one, but two casinos as the world's smartest businessman?

  • If it sounds too good to be true, it isn't. I don't know if it is naivety or stupidity, although it is certainly greed, but there seems to be a never-ending supply of people who will fall for these scams.

    • Even the "legit" gambling operations like those in Vegas, are scams, just somewhat less scammy.

      • There not really scams. They are quite upfront about the fact that the games favor the house. Some people apparently find gambling enough of a pleasure to be willing to pay and the rest are just silly optimists to hope to beat the odds. There is a lot of selective memory recalling the visit where they won and forgetting all the ones when they lost.

        • They are quite upfront about the fact that the games favor the house

          Really? This is only true if you read the fine print. And who reads the fine print? It's only there to cover their rears legally. No, fine print doesn't equal "being quite upfront."

    • "If it sounds too good to be true, it isn't."

      The cruel irony is the unspoken part at the end: "Except the rare times that it is, which lets people get their hopes up."

      "I have a $10,000 winning lottery ticket and I want to give it to your charity" sounds too good to be true, but it probably happens a few times a decade. Better make that a few times a century.

      But if someone comes to me with that speech, I'll be like "thank you, that's very generous of you" until he asks for anything of significant value or a

  • Beastly (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    The scam begins with deceptive ads posted on social media that claim the wagering sites are working in partnership with popular social media personalities, such as Mr. Beast, who recently launched a gaming business called Beast Games.

    This is such a good tactic. Scammers only want easy targets, so they use Mr. Beast as the lure to only attract kids (and adults with the brain capacity of a child).

  • Funny, how that turns out in actual reality, time and again.

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