There are loads of video games that primarily flip into an unpaid job, or worse, a job that you simply pay for. World of Warcraft and EVE Online gamers can relate. But a brand new crop of “play-to-earn” video games, by which the participant can reportedly earn actual cash (or cryptocurrency which may rely as actual cash) are tempting gamers determined to make their leisure time worthwhile. And, based on the FBI, they’re additionally being focused by—who else?—crypto scammers.

A brief put up to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, noticed by Bleeping Computer, lays out the small print. Players are lured to a sport the place they’ll allegedly earn cryptocurrency rewards just by taking part in and directed to attach a crypto pockets to the sport. But it truly works in reverse: The extra cryptocurrency the participant locations within the pockets, the extra the sport exhibits the participant their “rewards,” with out truly including any worth (resembling it’s) to the pockets.

Once the participant stops depositing cryptocurrency to the pockets, the entice is sprung. The scammer makes use of the participant’s pockets credentials, which have been enter to the sport as a part of its “reward” mechanics, to empty the pockets. The cash’s gone and the sport may disappear, too. The participant is left with nothing however misplaced time and cash.

Gamers have been focused by scammers for a very long time, however usually the runaround is both stealing in-game property (annoying, however primarily innocent) or making an attempt to get you to pay actual cash for pretend sport foreign money like Fortnite’s V-Bucks. These pretend play-to-earn video games are a brand new vector, utilizing the nameless nature of cryptocurrency and the attract of incomes cash when you play video video games to sucker folks. Remember, cryptocurrency itself may be the closest factor to pretend you can nonetheless report in your taxes, however folks put in and take out actual cash with the intention to take part.

The FBI recommends organising a separate, remoted cryptocurrency pockets if you wish to play pay-to-earn video games, in order to isolate your foremost stash of crypto from what you’re prepared to threat. I’ve a greater concept. Just keep away from any sport that purports to allow you to earn cryptocurrency by taking part in. The rewards are price lower than a minimal wage job for the time expended and the games are generally crap in addition. And that’s assuming that you simply’re taking part in an actual one.