Cybersecurity experts warn that fraudsters may have a new tactic targeting players of Counter-Strike 2.
What do we know about these fraudsters? The company Silent Push has identified a potential threat to players of Counter-Strike 2 with a team of cybersecurity experts.
The company discovered a so-called “phishing campaign” where fraudsters attempt to steal players’ Steam data. A pop-up window would open in the affected users’ browser, imitating Steam and disguised as Valve’s gaming platform, asking for your Steam login information.
The experts found the pop-up window on a page claiming to let you open a free crate and then presents you with a skin supposedly obtained from it. To collect this skin, you are asked to log in through the fake Steam window, according to the experts.
This is what it looks like:
The pop-up window and the website that integrated the window along with the supposedly free crate use the eSports team NaVi to capture the attention of CS2 players.
Additionally, the experts found various posts, for example on YouTube, that promote links to the website.
What happens to the stolen login data? According to Silent Push, there are websites where Steam accounts are sold. Accounts that have a large number of games are said to be particularly valuable and can be worth tens of thousands of US dollars.
The experts suspect that stolen accounts are being resold for profit.
How can you identify fake pop-up windows? Silent Push advises to be especially vigilant and points out several signs that may indicate such a tactic:
- The actors behind the CS2 phishing have not bothered to create convincing, mobile-optimized phishing sites, according to Silent Push. If you’re unsure about a page/window, opening the window on your smartphone may provide a clue.
- According to Silent Push, legitimate windows, including pop-ups, can be maximized, minimized, and moved outside of the browser window. However, fake pop-ups cannot be maximized, minimized, or moved outside the browser window.
- The simplest way to identify a fake pop-up window, according to Silent Push, is to pull the window out of the browser window.
However, we at MeinMMO are not cybersecurity experts and can only advise you to handle your data responsibly. If you’re unsure about a pop-up window, it’s best to avoid it.
If you are ever uncertain about whether you logged into a fake site, you will probably want to change your password next. If you wonder how secure the new password is against hacker attacks, you can check it with a graphic: You think your password is secure? A graphic shows you how long hackers would take to crack it.
