You won't get stuck anymore: the popularity of fraudulent schemes with games is growing

Analysts of Russian telecommunications companies conducted a study and found that the number of cyber attacks by telephone scammers on schoolchildren in the first 5 months of 2025 increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. They also found out exactly which schemes are popular with criminals. Gaming fraud has become one of the main ones. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Fraudulent schemes involving mobile games: what is known

In the first five months of 2025, the number of cyber attacks targeting schoolchildren increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. This conclusion was made by analysts from specialists of Russian telecommunications companies. One of the main methods of deceiving children and teenagers is to create fake versions of popular online games in which malicious files are embedded. The most popular targets of scammers were Minecraft and Brawl Stars games, as well as the online gaming platform and game creation system Roblox.

Scammers offer students monetary rewards for using their games or social accounts. When gaining access, the attackers deceive not only the fraud victim, but also her friends, using trust in the compromised account.

According to reports, over the past year, Minecraft has recorded 3 million attempts to infect devices with viruses through fake mods, in Roblox this figure was 1.65 million, and in Brawl Stars — 310 thousand.

As Dmitry Morev, director of information security at RuStore, previously told Izvestia, the main danger is posed by fake modifications and cheats masquerading as useful add-ons. This way, not only gaming accounts are stolen, but attackers also gain access to bank accounts, which are often linked to children's devices to make purchases in the aforementioned games and services.

"Scammers require excessive permissions, for example, access to geolocation or a photo gallery, which is completely unnecessary for the game," Dmitry Morev added.

If we talk about Brawl Stars, then fraud schemes include fake tournaments, where scammers pose as organizers and lure recovery codes to access accounts. In the case of Roblox, exact copies of the official website are created, and the free game currency Robux is also offered.

According to the expert, scammers use the built-in WebView, which merges with the real interface of the gaming platform, resulting in an almost indistinguishable picture from the original.

How to protect children from scams in online games

The main advice from experts when protecting against scams is not to enter your data on third—party sites, even if they look real. To determine its authenticity, you need to verify the domain. Fake addresses are often similar to the official ones, but they have some differences. You can also check the date of their registration using whois services. They are usually created in a few days or months.

It is also especially important to avoid links in social networks or messengers that promise supposedly free gaming resources. Two-factor authentication via email and the installation of updates through the official app stores will also help in data protection.

What fraudulent schemes aimed at teenagers have appeared recently

The exam period has recently ended. The scammers did not ignore her either. In the run-up to the exams, the scammers promised to send exam answers or even fake the results. The attackers imitated calls or messages on behalf of the school, administration or other government agencies, allegedly to "confirm identity" or "check admission to the exam."

After passing the Unified State Exam, the scammers shifted their attention to university admission. Against the background of stress, especially if the exam scores are not high, scammers rely on the fear of failure of the applicant. In this case, they offer "accelerated" or "alternative" enrollment methods and other "effective" enrollment methods.