Keeping yourself safe from cyberattacks while gaming online

Digital security is a topic that never goes away, and for good reason. Cyberattacks can be devastating to companies and individuals all over the world; they put people at risk, damage their mental health, and can often put them into financial destitution.

There is nothing more important than keeping your data safe online. This is particularly true if you game online, as gaming companies hold all of your information, from personal data like your address and date of birth to financial details, such as your PayPal email or your Visa card details.

Luckily, despite rogue, low-lives looking to access your data online illegally, several cybersecurity companies are fighting the right battle and helping secure your data. However, there are also other things you can do to protect yourself, which is what we will focus on today, it is often referred to as the second line of defense, but if you ensure that you remain vigilant online at all times, you may never have to call on the services of a cybersecurity expert.

Check that the site is legitimate

One of the more common ways that criminals get their hands on your data is by posing as a duplicate version of a bona fide provider. Thankfully, search engines often spot these scams quickly, and they banish the pages from their search engines. It is one of the most important things to consider when signing up for games online, as scammers do not need much to replicate legitimate sites. Once they convince you that they are a “legitimate” brand or representative, you will have no issues providing them with sensitive data.

Often, these sites will lack the https security padlock, which is next to the site name in your browser. Another telling sign is that you can go to their social media channels and see what website they have listed there. Now, this isn’t always a foolproof strategy as specific games, especially smaller casino gaming platforms, do not have a social media presence, which can cause issues.

However, social media sites, comments, and those within the gambling community can guide you and tell you whether a site is legitimate. If you ensure this is the case, you can rest assured knowing that you are entering your information onto a legitimate website.

Business development and marketing contain many facets, but for any business, if its main server is hacked or somebody gains unlawful access to its website, this can have catastrophic consequences on its reputation. So, it does its utmost to ensure this doesn’t happen. It could spell the end of its business overnight. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen; it always pays to be vigilant.

Beware of phishing links and sophisticated email scams

Unfortunately, despite the increasing advances in digital technology, there has been an increase in the number of scammers and criminals leveraging technology to their advantage. It’s not all bad news, though; some companies have started using AI to waste scammers’ time.

While this might be good at stemming the number of telephone scammers, many other criminals use more sophisticated techniques, including e-mail scams and sophisticated phishing links that look highly realistic. Here are some of the most sophisticated phishing scams that have emerged, and ones to be on the lookout for:

• Business e-mail compromise is when a business e-mail is hacked, and the criminal in control of it will either send out a link that appears legitimate, or, in some cases, send a “new link” claiming a payment hasn’t gone through.
• Whaling – this is when a high-profile individual within a business is targeted.
• Deepfake scams often mirror notable figures within an organization and are used to convince people to send money to a “safe account.”

Common steps to take

Technology might be advancing, as might the tools that fraudsters are using, but usually, if you stop and question anything you are sent, and do not follow through on anything that sounds suspicious, it’s difficult to fall into these traps. If you receive correspondence from a gaming company asking for money or asking you to follow a link, then 99% of the time, this will not be legitimate.

Do not respond to emails, texts, or phone calls. If you are ever in doubt, search for the company’s phone number independently online and speak to them directly to ensure any correspondence is legitimate.

You can extend this point to include individuals who message you on social media, or if you are gaming online on an XBOX or PlayStation. If somebody is looking for money or offering something that appears too good to be true, then it almost always is – keep this in mind when you are gaming, and you stand a good chance of keeping yourself safe.

If you are playing gambling games, you can implement responsible gambling tools that will help keep your data safe. These include time and money limits, as well as responsible gambling pages that are signposted by a digital gambling platform.

Utilize search engines, 2FA, and password keys

Usually, social media and search engines can tell you whether the wording of a text or scam is legitimate or not – and if it is from a genuine gaming company, then you can reach out to them independently by speaking to their customer service desk – which eliminates handing any of your data over to rogue online criminals.

Implementing 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) to ensure that any of your logins have an extra layer of security is also a wise step. So is using password keys, which help generate completely random passwords for each of your logins. Therefore, if your data is breached, you aren’t using the same passwords across multiple sites, which lessens the chance of a cybercriminal accessing your information.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter if you are accessing your online banking or playing a few games; you only need to be a little slow or a little late on one occasion for a cybercriminal to succeed. Implement all of the steps we talked about today, including doing independent research about suspicious emails or texts you have received, as well as using strong passwords and 2FA for your existing logins, and you put yourself in the best position not to fall victim to a cybercrime.