Pays kids and teens to buy virtual gadgets to keep playing

Electronic games drain parents' pockets with "hidden fees"

Children are at risk of bullying and fraud from electronic games.

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People have monitored the spread of fraudulent methods practiced by online game operators, to drain users’ money, through hidden fees, which are imposed to purchase interactive tools during playing these games, including the purchase of weapons, swords, shields, virtual clothes, and others to be able to continue and complete the game.

For its part, Abu Dhabi Police warned against dealing with fake and untrusted electronic gaming platforms that may lure customers into fraud and steal money through bank cards or bank accounts.

In detail, parents told "Emirates Today" that despite their payment of sums of money to buy or participate in electronic games for the benefit of their children, they face demands and urgency from their children to pay additional sums of money, to buy interactive tools that enable them to continue playing, as well as There are free-to-subscribe online games, but their operators charge for them at a later time.

Rami Hassan, the father of a child, stated that he often faces demands from his son to buy interactive tools, within electronic games that he plays on the Internet, with not small amounts of money, despite buying the game, indicating that he is afraid of his children buying these tools away from parents’ control. Especially since the bank card data is recorded on the devices through which they play these games.

Another (Abu Muhammad) stated that developers of electronic games take advantage of the passion of children and adolescents to play them, and devise fraudulent methods, to drain the pockets of parents on an ongoing basis, as they are not satisfied with the sums of money that are paid for the game, but rather lure teenagers to buy other virtual tools, enabling them to continue playing, especially in team games.

Kaspersky, a cybersecurity company, stated that some online games use the "conditionally free" model, which means that some content is given for free, and then they ask for a fee to access other stages of the game.

She explained that some games tempt the young man to use real money to buy a sword, shield or virtual tools, and most of the time these games require a credit card to log in and start playing, and its cost is calculated automatically if users decide to purchase new items or services.

She advised against registering the credit card number for any conditional free games even if the child plays traditional subscription-based games, and it is also important to check credit card bills on a regular basis to ensure that no purchase fees are charged, and when the child uses a smartphone or tablet, he should Turn off 'in-app updates' to prevent kids from billing in-app purchases.

She cautioned that playing on the Internet is not all entertainment and games, as children are exposed to the risks of bullying, identity theft, credit card fraud, and even sexual exploitation, stressing the importance of talking to children about these risks.

In a related context, Abdullah Ahmed’s guardian said that one of the most serious threats facing adolescents and young adults is the lack of electronic awareness and the unsafe handling of downloading electronic games, as many of them want to download free games on phones and smart devices in light of the reluctance of some parents to purchase them. Some of them faced the problem of hacking by hackers, due to entering fake sites, which they reached through random searches on search engines.

He stressed the importance of dealing with documented websites through an adult so that one of them does not fall victim to a process of extortion or theft of his personal and banking data, as well as the importance of awareness not to accept friendships from strangers or to click on unknown links during team games.

For its part, Abu Dhabi Police warned against clicking on anonymous electronic links, and not dealing with fake and unreliable online stores that may engage in fraud by stealing their money through their bank cards or bank accounts.

And she warned against fake electronic game platforms that drain parents' pockets, calling on parents to be vigilant in dealing with these electronic game sites that are popular with children and adolescents and may drain more money to complete the stages of these games, which puts pressure on parents, in addition to the danger of these sites accessing bank card information Often.

It warned of the danger of subscribing or buying electronic games online or disclosing credit card details in order to preserve its confidentiality, purchasing through trusted sites that apply safe controls, and using a bank card with a limited balance so that they are not vulnerable to fraud and piracy, which leads to monthly deductions from Bank card. 

fake email links

Players of online electronic games have monitored the spread of fake electronic links, which teens resort to, to download free games, but they discover that they aim to penetrate their accounts and personal and banking data registered on the devices, as well as solicitations to purchase virtual tools in electronic games, which leads some to spend sums of money. Great on these tools.

They said that scammers target young children and adolescents, who play electronic games, either individually or collectively, as anonymous links are sent to fake electronic games, and as soon as they are clicked, the user discovers that the link is a group of powerful viruses, and his account and personal data are hacked. .

Adham Muhammad said that he has been playing PlayStation games, whether individually or collectively, for a long time, especially during summer vacations, and he happens to receive a link privately, to download a game for free, while it is sold in the market at a high price, in exchange for exchanging some rewards that The player obtains it during the game, indicating that he does not respond to such links, because they penetrate the data of the devices.

Abu Dhabi Police warned against dealing with fake electronic gaming platforms.

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