The Philippine National Police Issues a Warning on Fake P2E Games

The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) released a document outlining players’ risks when playing play-to-earn crypto games. The report mainly centered on fraudulent crypto gaming schemes that employ deceptive tactics such as luring users with promises of fake crypto rewards.

Fraudulent Play-to-Earn Games

The Philippine National Police warned about certain models used by crypto games and raised awareness about the numerous schemes some games use to extort money from players.

Notably, these fraudulent play-to-earn games utilize fake rewards to steal millions worth of cryptocurrency, the police said in the report. To achieve this, cybercriminals behind these crypto games use custom-created gaming apps that promise substantial financial rewards directly proportional to investments.

To successfully pull off these schemes, cybercriminals contact and “build a relationship with victims over time.” Then, they present the victims with online or mobile Web3 games in which they can allegedly earn cryptocurrency in exchange for activities like “growing ‘crops’ or an animated farm.”

While they do this, the game’s design displays fake rewards players have accumulated for doing these tasks. However, once they stop depositing virtual money into the wallet, the perpetrators “steal all the funds via malware which was covertly activated when the victim joined the game.”

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Police Warns About “Access Barriers” in Crypto Games

Apart from crypto games with fake rewards, the PNP ACG also warned users about overall risks users must pay attention to when it comes to blockchain gaming.

While there are multiple advantages these games offer to users, crypto gaming has its disadvantages, the police stated. The authorities pointed out “access barriers” used in those games that affect some gamers more than others.

Axie Infinity was brought up as an example, an NFT-based online video game that requires players to have three Axie characters before being able to access the game. The cheapest Axie is priced at around $100, meaning players must spend a minimum of $300 before they can start earning. 

Such a high level of required investment can put off gamers, given that most traditional games cost less than $100. Furthermore, players of these games risk losing their tokens and NFTs when attempting to send them to a wallet that does not support a specific NFT type. 

What are your experiences with crypto games? Let us know in the comments below.