The popularity of online gaming and e-sports has reached surprising heights in recent years. As popularity and digitization continue to increase, the online gaming world has also become a target for scammers. In this dynamic environment, game scammers are constantly improving their attack methods against players' accounts. Here, some beneficial tips for wearing a fraud protection shield while enjoying the game world for you.
While the e-sports and gaming industry continues to grow in a bigger wave after COVID-19, it continues to gain the attention of not only players but also scammers. The game industry, which is determined to reshape our common understanding of entertainment in our digitalized world, is essentially a huge industry that creates innovations and develops existing technology to contribute to the ever-evolving technology. This industry, where we can witness the first steps of many new technologies such as changing and developing virtual reality glasses, is an area that is followed with enthusiasm with its constantly innovative structure and trials. However, this vibrant industry, which keeps up with the changing and developing technology, can often create an environment for fraudsters for the same reason.
The Growing Gaming Industry and the Damage of Fraud
According to Statista, the game industry, which has a market value of around 156 billion dollars in 2020, is expected to exceed 200 billion dollars in 2023. In today's world, where in-game purchases and premium game content are increasing, it is now normal to spend money while playing games. The results of the joint research conducted by ACIA and Newzoo prove to us that the game world is in trouble with cheaters, not bosses. According to the research based on 2000 players, 50 percent of computers and console players make in-game purchases, while this figure is 70 percent in mobile games. The most striking result of the research was that players were most looking for a sense of security when spending money on a game. From time to time, even the pleasure of the game, the search for confidence was a must for a perfect gaming experience.
The gaming industry, where 20 percent of gamers are victims of fraud, has great potential for fraudsters. Players who spend in-game and thus share their sensitive information with manufacturers demand a seamless gaming and purchasing experience. As the purchase increases, the sensitive information they store increases, on the other hand, game companies become dazzling targets for scammers.
As online gaming and esports scams cause more serious losses and consequences for the gaming industry, developers prefer more professional fraud detection tools. Real-time and artificial intelligence-assisted fraud detection applications have now become the norm, as befits the rapidly developing technology of the gaming industry. Professional risk experts and companies working with fraud detection software tend to protect the player from the first step, especially by offering different payment methods.
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Types of Frauds in the Gaming Industry
Since the game world first emerged, fraudsters have developed different methods by adapting to technology with them. However, in general, it is possible to examine fraud methods under 5 different headings.
- Bonus Abuse: It is the fraudsters making profits by misusing your periodic bonus campaigns or incentives. Especially in membership-based systems, they can benefit from the bonuses that come with the registration. This fraud method can mean the loss of 15 percent of the gross earnings of the game companies.
- Multiple Account Usage: Fraudsters can take advantage of you more than once by opening multiple accounts in the game system. From time to time, they can commit fraud by allowing accounts to back up a main account.
- Account Takeover: Scammers phishing in-game by obtaining login lists through data breaches and attempting to obtain sensitive information from players. This method is also known as credential filling.
- Chargeback Fraud: The chargeback process is essentially an on-demand return process to protect the customer who has been cheated. However, scammers can commit fraud by making frequent chargebacks during in-game purchases, for example when purchasing game bundles. They try to take advantage of the vulnerability of this action initiated for customer satisfaction.
- Affiliate Fraud: It happens by scammers who want to trigger CPA/PPL by doing multiple accounting in an organized manner. It is intended to give more rewards to all your players for the bad traffic they create, including your non-existent or non-spending customers.
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What are the consequences of fraud in the gaming industry?
Trust is essential for success in the gaming industry. These fraudulent methods will affect your long-term success and earnings and will undoubtedly harm you. When you consider the loss of work force and trust, your earnings lost due to fraud are almost tripled.
- Advertising and Brand Awareness Damage
Considering bonus abuse and affiliate fraud, your marketing investment suffers significantly. Players who have lost their trust will undoubtedly prevent new players from coming. The game is played with many people no matter what. But if someone does not want to play, no doubt others will be affected as well. This is also true in the online gaming world. Bad player experiences and feedback greatly affect your new players and your gameplay.
- Long Term Chargeback Losses
Chargeback Fraud and Scam-related losses not only cause you to lose money, but also waste time in business. Moreover, your company enters the suspicious file of bank and card companies. As your risk team gets overwhelmed by the heavy workload, you become more vulnerable to danger.
- Legal Fines
It is not difficult to see that more severe penalties and fines await the gaming industry in the future, as we foresee that e-sports and gaming companies will be examined by government agencies more frequently. Strengthening your accountability and transparency by not protecting your company from fraudsters will be one of your most logical investments for the future.
Bring the Power of AI(Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning to the Game
The game industry should add the developing technology to the game to protect itself from fraudsters. Protecting your game and your customers from scammers is easy with a state-of-the-art fraud detection application. By getting a fraud detection tool that works with artificial intelligence and machine learning, you can instantly detect changing and evolving fraud methods. Thus, your company will win the fight against fraudsters not only today but also in the future and will become stronger every day.
The success of fraud detection tools powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning is due to the fact that they offer you all 3 solutions you need during fraud detection at the same time;
- Live User Tracking:
It is very difficult and almost impossible to follow the movements of all your users instantly. But if you have the right fraud detection tool, artificial intelligence can easily do it for you and greatly reduce your workload. Artificial intelligence-supported fraud detection tools reflect the movements of all your users on your monitor in real time. Thus, you can both detect fraudsters and monitor your earnings live.
- Correct Rules Formats For Fraud Detection:
Another important topic in fraud detection is undoubtedly to set strong rules for accurate detection. Being able to periodically change strong rule strings will add success to your success. The right fraud detection tool for your company will allow you to easily create a rule string, while giving your employee easy implementation. They should also not let your players enjoy the game while you create rule strings and detect cheaters. This feature, which will bring flexibility and powerful weapons to your risk department, is very important for your game quality and will enable you to be successful in fraud detection.
- An AI That Always Understands You and Fraud:
It is actually the easiest stages to follow the data of the players and then subject them to an instant test from the rules you set. The hardest, final step is to protect yourself in the future by getting a fraud detection tool that can learn something from every fraud detection. The most accurate fraud detection tools for your company should benefit from the latest technology, namely artificial intelligence and machine learning. Thus, each determination will improve and strengthen it, and then turn it into an element that will protect you even better in the future. In the updated game industry, scammers always update themselves. A fraud detection tool that can keep up with all these will always be able to protect you.
If you want to get a fraud detection tool that can adapt to you in the ever-evolving and changing game world and help you in your battle with fraudsters, contact us now.
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