Victims refused to take legal action...and a cyber expert advises adopting official stores
Electronic games drain the pockets of "players" with periodic "small" thefts
Playing electronic games can turn into an addiction.
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“Black sites” record bank card data and then sell them.
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Some of the sites used by electronic gamers to pay for their games or buy some of their tools, take advantage of the data they obtain, to embezzle sums of money from the cards they use to log in.
These sites are usually called "third party".
They receive amounts that may not be visible to many bank account holders, because they are so small.
However, it does not stop there, but rather continues to “extend its hand” to the pockets of the players, secretly, while many of the victims consider that the sums it seizes are so small that it is not worth filing a complaint with the concerned agencies, and they content themselves - at best - with taking The necessary procedures to secure the bank account.
Parents confirmed that they were victims of "small embezzlement", after their children bought virtual tools for some electronic games, before it became clear to them that the embezzlement did not stop.
A study from the University of Maryland showed that every 39 seconds, hackers attack a gaming user's device, because most of the time the victim has their own credit or debit card attached to the account from which they logged into the game.
An electronic game user, Joseph Nabil, said that he participated in a fighting and strategy game, and needed to purchase in-game tools and weapons, equivalent to 40 dirhams each time.
However, he was surprised that dollar amounts were withdrawn through the game's payment server automatically, without his knowledge.
He added that there are payment platforms that rely on so-called "black sites", which in turn rely on recording bank card data, then selling them, or withdrawing from them periodically, which prompted him to stop playing the game, he says, to avoid draining his money.
Mohamed Abdel Qader said that his son used to play a strategy game, which is basically free on online stores.
However, in its practice, it relies on buying fields, weapons, and tools in large sums of money to reach higher stages.
He added: «Whenever he came to me asking to buy in-game tools, I was surprised by messages that reached me with withdrawals of amounts between 10 and 30 dirhams continuously, without knowing a reason for that, and when I searched for the name of the party that used to withdraw money from me, I was surprised that it was an intermediary company for payment, which is what He made me hurry to change my bank card to avoid withdrawing more money.
As for Noureddine Khaled, a father of a child, he said that he was surprised by amounts withdrawn from his bank card for no apparent reason, and when he asked the bank, he learned that it belonged to one of the companies authorized to pay for an electronic game.
He continued, "I went back to my son to ask him if he was the one who used it without my knowledge. He assured me that he used it once, but that entity continued to withdraw money continuously, starting with small amounts."
Professor of Sociology at the University of Sharjah, Dr. Ahmed Al-Amoush, stated that electronic games cause many negative aspects.
Before talking about material risks, as they lead to the spread of violence and aggressive manifestations towards oneself or the other, especially since the child tries to imitate the games by harming others, in addition to the fact that these games follow a gradual policy that leads to addiction after that.
He pointed out that when a person reaches this stage, he cannot abandon it. Studies indicate that a person sometimes resorts to theft in order to purchase virtual tools, and he may use his family’s credit card without their knowledge, and then the matter turns into addiction. He explained that the matter begins gradually, Represented in a small amount, then reaching to think about money and collect it by any means to buy what he deems appropriate, pointing out that electronic games are a routine activity that a person gets used to, and therefore it is necessary to try to change it, which is the responsibility of the family, school, media and cultural clubs, with The need for legal programs to protect young people from the dangers of electronic games.
For his part, cybersecurity expert Abdelnour Sami said that the origin of the spread of applications is to put them through official application stores such as the “App Store” or “Google Play”, and these stores are the safe and explicit intermediary for them, which allow purchases within gaming applications through them.
He added that “most of the games are free, but the purchase process takes place within them,” explaining that “the player or user buys by paying the store, which deposits the income to the company that owns the application;
They, in turn, get a commission for that.
This is important for its continuity, providing income for it, developing its digital structure, helping to preserve the security and information of users, and preventing unwanted or fake purchases.”
He mentioned that some game companies made it possible to pay outside the stores, such as the game "PUBG" and "Fort Knight".
He said, “The latter in particular tried to circumvent and allow payment through the application directly, which resulted in depriving it of the stores, because this methodology poses a threat to the data of individuals, and could harm the profits of the companies that own the stores.
In terms of security;
Companies such as (Google) or (Apple) protect users from unsafe purchases, and save payment cards, in addition to protection from unscheduled payments. This reflects on me as an individual, as it is difficult for me to recover my money, because the user cannot differentiate between an authorized and unauthorized store, as the page through which the purchase is made may be fraudulent, and game companies are the main reason for that.
He added, "As for the second target, it is selling cards for profit, which causes money to be automatically withdrawn from users without their will."
He stressed the need to cancel the process of registering cards within the games, because users make the purchase process from unsafe stores, called “third parties”, and it has also become a reason for fraud.
It creates a kind of bad service and fraud and exposes children to electronic blackmail, or exploitation of all kinds, in addition to the fact that many users sell pornographic materials, and take these cards as a price for those materials, and this creates behavioral and moral decay, stressing that “payment is outside the official application stores.” It creates large and complex digital risks, and one reason is to make payment available in an unregulated manner that is not subject to financial control.
In turn, the legal researcher, Dr. Mohsen Muhammad Al-Khabani, said that it is clear that the legislator in the UAE is keen to update laws and legislations related to combating the abuse of electronic payment methods in this aspect, even if criminal gangs innovate in developing methods of electronic penetration and cybercrime;
However, the law remains a deterrent, as it stipulates severe penalties in this regard.
With regard to crimes committed against information technology, the penalties for crimes of assault on electronic payment methods came as a deterrent in Article (15) of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 regarding combating rumors and electronic crimes, which stipulated that “he shall be punished with imprisonment and a fine of no less than 200 dirhams.” One thousand dirhams and not exceeding two million dirhams, or either of these two penalties, whoever forges, imitates, or copies a credit card, debit card, or any means of electronic payment, or seizes its data or information, using information technology means, or an information system, and shall be punished with the penalty same each of:Manufacture or design any information technology means or information program with the intention of facilitating any of the actions stipulated in the first paragraph of this article, or use without authorization a credit or electronic card or debit card or any means of electronic payment or any of its data or its information, with the intention of obtaining for himself or for others the funds or property of others or benefiting from the services provided by others, or before dealing with these counterfeit, counterfeit or copied cards or other means of electronic payment or data of electronic payment means illegally seized with aware of its invalidity.
Al-Khabani continued that Article (40) of the same decree-law regarding electronic fraud confirmed that “any person who appropriates for himself or for another shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than 250 thousand dirhams and not more than one million dirhams, or with one of these two penalties.” unlawfully on movable property or a benefit or on a bond or signing this bond, by resorting to any fraudulent method or by adopting a false name or assuming an incorrect capacity through the information network, electronic information system or any information technology means.
He stressed that, with the existence of these legislations with which the UAE legislator decides deterrent penalties to ensure the creation of a safe cyber environment to ensure the positive use of these technologies, it is necessary for the parties to the relationship to have a major role in ensuring the use of electronic payment methods in a safe and sound manner, as cybercriminals are usually lurking And trolls of errors for the parties to the relationship in the process of purchasing with credit cards via the Internet, and it is noted that most of these errors fall on the responsibility of the natural user, causing negligence and recklessness on his part in using his credit card in an unsafe manner, which may expose it to hacking and stealing sums of money without his knowledge.
The crimes of assaulting electronic payment methods can also be linked to the service provider itself, for example (the bank or the credit company), when it does not secure its card well. Which has been hacked, due to weaknesses in the means of electronic protection that are supposed to be strong in the face of hackers of websites.
And to find out who is responsible for the breach of the duty of control and due diligence, it is known that the general rule of liability is based on the availability of error and damage and combines them with a causal link, and therefore whenever the fault is on the user, the responsibility is based on him in the recklessness and neglect of the use of the accounts in his hands Which he should be careful in shopping from sites that guarantee safe shopping, and make sure that the information that the merchant needs only in the electronic space to complete the purchases is the name on the card, the credit card number and its expiration date, and if he finds himself he has committed himself to due diligence He must prove that the fault occurred on the part of the other parties to the relationship to ensure fair compensation for the damage incurred.
• "Black Sites" depend on recording bank card data and selling or withdrawing amounts from them on a regular basis.
• The basis for the spread of applications is to launch them through official stores such as the "App Store" or "Google Play".
protection mechanisms
Cybersecurity experts have identified mechanisms through which users can protect their devices and accounts, and play safely, most notably:
■ Turn on two-factor authentication on the user's gaming devices to avoid being hacked.
■ If the user has attached their credit card, purchases from the account must be monitored.
■ The user should check to see if the game companies provide "cleaning" of the chat function, allowing game companies to censor a certain language and prevent links from being posted.
■ An active anti-virus program must be installed to counter any threat.
■ Users should report any strange activity to the company, especially if something appears to be a scam.
■ Parents should check the ratings to see if the games are in the appropriate age group for their children, read the safety controls, and educate children about the importance of paying attention to the privacy and safety policy in games.
■ Run all security protocols on the devices.
Warning
Abu Dhabi Police warned against clicking on electronic links of unknown origin, and dealing with fake and unreliable online stores, pointing out that they may practice fraud by stealing money through their bank cards or bank accounts.
And she warned against fake electronic game platforms, calling on people to be vigilant in dealing with them so as not to drain more money.
And she warned of the danger of subscribing or buying electronic games via the Internet or disclosing credit card details in order to preserve their confidentiality, buying through trusted websites that apply secure controls, and using a bank card with a limited balance so that they are not vulnerable to fraud and piracy, which leads to deducting monthly amounts from the account. bank card.
Potential risks
Although playing games online is a way to communicate and interact with others, it still comes with risks. If you try to find cheaper or free versions of your favorite games, for example, you run the risk of downloading viruses and malware.
This is the case when you access cheat codes or purchase items through third-party sellers.
Even if you download a game legally, the vulnerability can put you at risk. Once malware gets onto your device, hackers can steal your personal information.
Cybercriminals collect personally identifiable information to build profiles of their potential victims.
A possible risk of playing online with strangers is that chatting allows the collection of sensitive information, such as your name, phone number, and home address.
And if you use the username and password for all your favorite gaming platforms - which is not recommended - then if hackers get hold of your credentials, hackers will be able to access and possibly take over all your accounts.
Legal action
Lawyer and legal expert, Muhammad Ibrahim Al-Bastaki, said that continuing to deduct electronic game fees from the players’ bank card balances, without their consent, is a crime.
And he continued that the affected person should contact the bank to stop the card, as a first step, while examining the possibility of recovering the amount deducted from the account.
As for the second step, according to Al-Bastaki, it is for the victim to submit a report of the incident immediately after he is exposed to it.
In this case, he can resort to the Dubai Police application, or the Ministry of Interior application.
And he stressed that there is no minimum amount for which a report can be submitted, “after all, it is called theft, in addition to the fact that the site or server for which the withdrawal process is being made can finance terrorism or any other crime.”
Al-Bastaki warned the account holder against negativity about this crime, pointing out that "he may fall under the law if he does not take the appropriate legal action, meaning that he must act legally to secure himself."
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