New Game Console? Stay Secure And Watch For Scams
By: Jim Stickley and Tina Davis
February 1, 2021
It’s an exciting time for gamers with the launch of Microsoft and Sony’s new consoles. But it’s also a good opportunity to remember the importance of staying secure online. The PlayStation 5 and the Xbox series X & S represent a big step forward in the gaming industry and there is a lot of excitement and buzz. Online gaming is huge and will continue to grow at the start of a brand-new console generation, but it’s also a good opportunity to review whether you’re doing as much as possible to keep your online accounts secure.
If your children are regular users of gaming consoles, be sure to explain the risks to them and provide them with tips for keeping the consoles and their identities safe. Let them know to contact you if something is out of the ordinary. Then address it right away. If you ever get a notification that there was a data breach of a gaming company, immediately change the passwords for those devices, whether they say your information was affected or not. Better safe than sorry. Also, keep a close eye on the payment card charges that was used to purchase anything for the consoles. Consider not storing payment information in the account to keep it more secure in case there is a breach.
When downloading apps and games to any device, gaming, tablet, smartphone, or otherwise, always do research to ensure others haven’t had issues already. If there are few reviews or all of them are glowing with no criticism, that should light up the red flag indicators in your brain. If you have ever read reviews of anything, someone always has something negative to say. Only install apps from the official stores. Most mobile phone malware infections happen from downloading apps outside of the official store. This practice is known as Sideloading and can be risky to say the least.
Always be sure to watch for scams. There was one (unconfirmed) report that a person paid $900 for a new PlayStation 5 console on eBay and received a brick in the box that arrived at his door. Whether that is true or not, it’s best to buy from reputable retailers. If they don’t have it, have some patience and get it when it comes back in stock.