The community of online video gamers is large with many of these people involved in multiplayer online games.  A scam presently targeting these online gamers starts with an email that appears to come from the gaming company threatening to sue the person receiving the email for as much as $2,700 for what it claims is the illegal selling of the intended victim’s online character or virtual goods for real money.  The email also threatens the immediate suspension of the gamer’s online account.  Then comes the hook.  If you want to check the status of your account or challenge the impending suspension, you are told to click on a link and provide information on a verification page.  The verification page will ask for personal information such as your account number and your credit card number.  Of course, once the victim has provided this information to the scammer, it will be used to turn the gamer into the victim of identity theft.

TIPS

These emails can look quite legitimate and often carry the logo of real online gaming companies.  However, it is important to remember that counterfeiting a logo is as simple as going to Google images and making a copy of the company logo.

So how can you tell if you receive an email or a text message that asks you to click on a link or provide personal information by looking at it that the email or text message is legitimate?  The simple answer is you can’t so don’t even bother to try.  Instead, if you think it may be legitimate, merely contact the company from which the email or text message appears to come from at a number you know to be legitimate.  Don’t use the telephone number provided in the email or text message.