The risks of pirated games, activation codes from gray market sites, and ready-made accounts from official stores.
Modern games can be quite costly, and not everyone can afford to get them at full price. Some players believe that entertainment, in general, shouldn't cost that much. Even so, many do not want to miss out on the games and are therefore looking for other alternatives, including those that flirt with illegality. If you are one of this group of gamers, you should be careful because unpleasant surprises can lurk around the next corner.
Pirated Copies
A common way to get a game cheaply is by downloading a pirated version. It's neither legal nor ethical, but let's be honest, it doesn't stop many from doing what they want. However, these types of free games can come at a high price: scammers spread malware, often disguised as game crackers or activation keys, and their traps can be difficult to circumvent.
Fraudulent Activation Codes
At first glance, another and completely legal way of saving money on games is to buy an activation key in an unofficial shop. The prices there are usually lower than on official websites and thus attract the bargain hunters among gamers.
The gray market, however, is dubious; therefore the name. Aside from honest sellers who buy keys in bulk and offer them at a discount, there are also a few scammers in this world. To distinguish them from normal sellers is not always easy.
The activation keys for sale could have been stolen or only intended for journalistic purposes. Such keys tend to be revoked by publishers, with the result that the key either doesn't work in the first place or the game suddenly disappears from the account. It is possible, after much back and forth, to prove that the activation key was purchased in good faith, without having known about its dubious origin. But are these few toads worth all of the inconvenience?
Anyway, the main argument for buying games is to help the developers so that these multiplayer servers can maintain and develop new games and sequels. If you buy a stolen key, the money goes straight into the pockets of the thief and the developers get nothing.
Also, both developers and publishers have to invest a lot of resources to investigate such cases and also grapple with affected customers and claims for damages. Because of this, some independent studios have even advised gamers to download a pirated copy rather than pass money to the gray market sellers.
Ready-to-use Accounts
It's not hard to find a great offer for a ready-made account that is teeming with games on a platform like Steam or Origin. Compared to the price of each game, such accounts can be real discounts. The sellers explain their generosity z. B. with the fact that they have stopped playing and want to recoup at least some of their expenses.
What can go wrong there? A lot. First, the seller could be a bald scam who steals your money and then disappears, leaving you with no account and a hole in your wallet. The real disadvantage is that you can no longer turn to anyone: the gaming platforms expressly prohibit the sale of accounts, which makes buying them illegally.
Second, the account could turn out to be stolen. The real owner could ask for this account back sooner or later (which is logical). In this case, you lose the money you paid to the criminals. The same applies here: If the initial purchase has violated the rules of the platform, legal action is pointless.
Third, even if the account exists and is owned by the seller, and even if the seller hands it over to you, you are still not guaranteed a smooth transaction. After receiving the money, the seller could request an account recovery claiming you stole the account.
Fourth, gaming platforms are hostile to such “shadow trade”. If the system detects the transfer of the account, it could simply block the account "until the circumstances are cleared up." That is, you will never see this account again.
Last but not least, trading accounts through gaming platforms is prohibited. So if a transaction goes wrong, you are wrong. That's why buying a secondhand gaming platform account is perhaps the riskiest way to save on games. It is better not to mess around with this option.
Play in Official Stores
If you want to save money without taking any chances, then stick to the law (which we recommend anyway). This also includes keeping an eye out for possible discounts and special offers or downloading inexpensive or free games from official websites.
Patience also helps a few years after initial release, you can get games between 80 and 90% cheaper, so you can save a lot of money with a little patience.
In any case, it is always essential to remain careful; even Steam is not immune to malware. In 2018, for example, scammers uploaded a miner disguised as a simple platform operator.
Also, in some cases, cybercriminals create fake game pages, either by setting up a separate website or on Steam itself. If you accidentally land on a fake page, you run the risk of infecting yourself and losing your account. In short: check everything carefully!
How to Save on Games - Without Any Risk
To avoid the hassle of finding discounted games, we recommend the following:
- Only buy games from official websites and wait for discounts. These are available at regular intervals so that you usually don't have to wait long for them.
- Don't buy the first offer that opens up to you. At least read some reviews of the offer. If something is fishy, people will likely find out.
- Use reliable total security software that won't let suspicious programs on your computer, no matter how interesting.
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