As the holiday season ramps up, online gamers spend more time in their favorite virtual worlds. From Nintendo to Xbox to “God of War” and “Call of Duty,” a flood of video games appear on the scene, encouraging players to invest even more time and money in this form of competitive entertainment. 

There are an estimated 3 billion gamers around the world, which translates to a growing attack surface for digital fraudsters. While players are focused on racking up points and bonuses, bad actors are watching from the sidelines, ready to make moves of their own. 

The holiday season is also a time when gaming companies sweeten the pot for players, often making big announcements and promoting new in-game releases. This all adds up to more platform engagement for gamers, and fraudsters will leverage this boom. It also means gaming companies are positioned to see sophisticated new attack strategies. So, how can they adapt quickly and keep their platforms safe?

Gaming Attacks

Online fraudsters understand the potential. The gaming sector hosts a large community of young users, many of whom have never been swept up in a data breach. Bad actors take advantage of this demographic by targeting high-value accounts to gain items they can resell in the real world—and for real money. During an account takeover, a player’s entire balance can be transferred into an attacker’s account. Once this happens, the attacker can cash out using services that turn gaming currency into…