League Of Legends Scam Back For The Holiday Season
Most every online game has its fair share of scammer, phishers, etc., and one of the better League of Legends scams is back for another holiday season.
One of the big scams for League of Legends right now is the Christmas RP Giveaway at riotevent.com (again, it is a SCAM, not a legitimate League of Legends or Riot site, so do not go there). It asks users to post a link to the site on various social media (or Steam) so clickers can get free points towards earning a $10, $25, or $50 gift card.
Unsurprisingly, this is a scam that has fooled many League of Legends players, including some fairly experienced scam spotters. Often, the scam is perpetuated by those who click on a link a friend sends them.
As noted in the League of Legends forum, there are a few notable things (besides free stuff) to indicate this is not an official Riot-sponsored League of Legends event.
- The website is not from Riot but is styled so it looks like it was.
- The login function (top right of the screen) does not exist even though there is a button for it when clicked, nothing happens. When hovered over, the cursor does not change.
- It wants you to share a link.
- After getting enough shares, the fake League of Legends site wants you to fill out a survey.
The particular thread linked on the League of Legends forum is to the Halloween event by the same site, but the scammers are now running a Christmas themed phish.
For all the League of Legends players out there, there are only three officially authorized Riot sites.
Additionally, as far as memory recalls, in the last six years, Riot has only given away free points for League of Legends once for nothing (ie, not a mistake or refund).
One of the tricky things with this scam is that each of the links actually takes you to an official League of Legends website (minus the login).
So what should you do if you have been deceived by this League of Legends or another scam site?
If you have not done so already, go ahead and run a virus sweep. A League of Legends moderator stated “You never know what scripts are running in the background. If you’ve visited any suspicious websites, I would strongly suggest you go ahead and scan your computer with your preferred antivirus program.”
If you logged in somewhere, immediately change your password and, if possible, your username. Make sure to keep monitoring anywhere you may have used either combination if you did not just use it for League of Legends.
After that, if you have posted any scam League of Legends links to social media or sent them to your friends, delete the post and let people know what happened. Yes, it may be embarrassing, but it is far better than letting a friend or family member who tried to help you suffer for it.
Finally, brush up on your scam knowledge. Scammers are coming up with new and improved methods for stealing info, not just for League of Legends. And it is getting easier for them.
CSO has an interesting article on an actual business complete with tech support that allows phishers and scammers to rent malware. CSO claims “One example is the new Russian website called Fake-Game. This website gives subscribers access to custom phishing links which they can then send to victims.”
For more great information on the various types of scams out there, check out this Reddit thread. It covers several scam types, some of which can be used with League of Legends or other popular games like CS: GO or Team Fortress 2.
Know of any other game scams going on right now? Post in the comments below and help out your fellow gamers!
[Featured Image by scyther5/Thinkstock]