How Gamers Can Keep Themselves And Their Device Safe When Playing Online
Online gaming is a fun and engaging pastime enjoyed by millions around the world. Unfortunately, the online world is of course often at the mercy of hackers and scammers who attempt to exploit players for profit, which can sometimes leave gamers vulnerable and out of pocket.
Here’s some of our top tips on how you can keep yourself, and your device, safe from harm when playing online:
Keep it personal
This may seem like an obvious one, but it’s of paramount importance that personal information is not disclosed to people online who you don’t know. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book for online scammers, who often attempt to win the trust of more vulnerable gamers and encourage them to reveal personal info, which can in turn lead to abuse, harassment and even identify theft and fraud. That’s why if you’re playing online and you get a message, only disclose info to people that you are 100% sure you know.
The same applies for disclosing your card details too. Whether you’re adding a payment method to your Xbox Live account, or signing up to an online casino platform, always ensure that you are accessing a safe and secure site that you recognise.
Hackers have grown increasingly sophisticated and create fake versions of websites to lure you in. If you’re not sure that a website is legitimate, conduct some research online or even call your gaming platform and get them to confirm the genuine web address. In most cases, particularly owing to increased banking security, inputting your card details online is generally safe so don’t be put off. You can even benefit from promotions for depositing funds by card, especially at a card registration bonus casino. However, if you ever receive an email from an online casino or gaming network requesting you to input your card details, do not proceed as this is likely to be a scam.
Don’t feed the trolls
“Trolling” – a recently coined phrase which refers to targeted online abuse and harassment, has become a real concern for many gamers to such abuse online. Whilst trolling, just like bullying, has unfortunately become part of the lives of many people both young and old, trolls can be easily defeated by refusing to engage with them. Trolls, like bullies, crave a reaction, and when this is given, they are only more likely to continue the abuse. Instead, report any targeted online behaviour which makes you upset or uncomfortable to the games’ administrators or moderators, and keep documents of any abuse for future reference.
Click with caution
Online scammers often attempt to exploit innocent players through the concept of “phishing” – a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by replicating a trustworthy source, and prompting users to click a link, which then exposes the user’s information.
This is one of the most common online scams so as a general rule, always exercise caution when presented with links or downloads, and search the net to see if anyone else has had the same message. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, so always err on the side of caution.
Update before it’s too late
You should always take steps to ensure your device’s software is fully up-to-date, including the specific operating system and all software installed. Previous versions of software installed on your device may have flaws or vulnerabilities which could be exploited by scammers.
Your software provider or manufacturer should provide prompts and correspondence encouraging you to update your software. Whilst it’s tempting to disregard these messages, you should set time aside to make sure the latest software is installed across your device to reduce any chance of your information being compromised.
By taking the above steps into account, you can ensure your gaming experience is as safe as possible, leaving you to enjoy the world of online gaming to the max!
