In Final Fantasy XIV, a new phishing message is circulating that will cost you your account if you’re not careful. Fraudsters are trying to get your login details through a seemingly harmless and random message.
This message is about: For several days, players in FFXIV have been reporting that they are receiving messages from unknown people via whisper chat. And these messages have startled some fans of the MMORPG. They are talking about the new expansion Endwalker being delayed by a whopping 4 months and seemingly provide a source link for this information.
In general, most people know that they should not click on links from unknown individuals. Therefore, the new phishing trick of account thieves is more sophisticated than earlier ones that promised money from an African prince.
This targets the curiosity of players and their anticipation of the Endwalker expansion. The link is apparently sent “accidentally to the wrong person” and is supposed to contain information about the delay of the highly anticipated expansion. Immediately following is the second message, which briefly apologizes for the oversight. It is increasingly made to seem as though a real player is behind the conversation.
If you open the link, you will be redirected to a page that looks just like the account management portal for FFXIV, the Mogry Station. The page will inform you that you must be logged in to view the news post. However, under no circumstances should you enter your login details there, or your account will be lost.
Even the protection from the one-time password of your security token or smartphone app cannot protect you 100%. If the fraudsters are quick enough, they can intercept the generated code before it becomes invalid.
The reddit thread warning about the message has now received over 2,500 upvotes, and in the comments, players shared their own experiences with the phishing fraudsters.
Beware of Links
What phishing attempts have there been otherwise? This is by no means the first time that such phishing messages have circulated in Final Fantasy 14. Veterans among you will therefore be familiar with the pattern. New players who have recently started in FFXIV or even MMORPGs in general may not be familiar with this method yet.
In earlier versions of the phishing attempt, fraudsters sent supposed terrible news that Square Enix had published or other links that seemingly led to official FFXIV pages.
There were also attempts outside the game to obtain the login details of FFXIV players. False links were sent both on Twitch in public chats and on Steam via private messages, which aimed to take players’ accounts.
The developers have even issued an official warning regarding such phishing attempts on Steam.
In addition to the warning, the devs also provide information on how to recognize false URLs. But with the old tried and true rule “Don’t click on unknown links,” you will always be on the safe side. The fraudulent account can then also be reported directly to support.
Have you ever received such a message in the game or on other platforms? Share your experiences with us in the comments.
Final Fantasy XIV is so successful that the CEO has apologized for it
