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Cybercriminals have set their sights on gamers, particularly those engaged in games like Call of Duty, exploiting cheat codes to pilfer personal data and even seize Bitcoin holdings.
VX-Underground (VXUG), a platform dedicated to malware research and cybersecurity education, revealed this alarming trend in a recent post on X.
The matter came to light when cheat code platforms received complaints of unauthorized code purchases.
“Over the past couple of days we have become aware of malware targeting gamers! More specifically, a currently unidentified Threat Actor is utilizing an infostealer to target individuals who cheat (Pay-to-Cheat) in video games,” VXUG stated.
While the exact number of accounts impacted by the malware or Bitcoin theft from those accounts is not known yet, it’s believed to be over 4 million.
Following the alert, Activision Blizzard, the publisher of Call of Duty, has taken proactive measures. Reports suggest that the company is collaborating with cheat code providers to assist players affected by infostealer malware.
“Reports have claimed that a cheat provider for games, including Call of Duty, was compromised with users who purchased the cheats having their personal information stolen. The cheat reportedly had malware that stole information,” CharlieIntel, a leading COD resource platform, revealed in a post on X.
Any compromise of personal information resulting from the purchase of cheats is attributed to the downloaded cheat itself, not to any breach of Call of Duty account security.
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson told CharlieIntel, “Our priority is always player account security. If players believe they may have clicked on a suspicious link or if they want to ensure their account is protected, they can change their password and follow recommended best practices here such as adding two-factor authentication.”
This security breach is not the first of its kind. Recently, the Munchables non-fungible token (NFT) project experienced a $63 million hack but managed to recover all stolen funds within hours.
Similarly, Charlotte Fang, CEO of the Remilia Corporation and creator of the renowned Remilio and Milady NFT collections under the alias Krishna Okhandiar, disclosed a substantial security breach that resulted in the loss of millions of dollars worth of ether and NFTs.
As incidents like these become more frequent and hackers refine their tactics, there is an increasing need for new safeguard solutions. In the meanwhile, holders are encouraged to implement robust security measures to secure their holdings.
