With 60 per cent of UK adults playing video games on console, desktop or smartphone devices, the gaming industry has increasing come under attack from hackers. Nottinghamshire Police are now encouraging gamers to take steps to make it harder for cyber criminals to access their data, following a rise in reports of online accounts being hacked, with victims losing thousands of pounds as a result – one Nottinghamshire-based gamer lost more than £2,000, while another victim in the East Midlands lost £10,000. The growing threat has led to Nottinghamshire Police’s cyber protect team urging gamers to follow National Cyber Security Centre advice. To prevent your gaming account being hijacked, you should: Kirsty Jackson, force cyber protect officer, said: “A lot of game distributors will not offer support if you have been using third party services to commence trades and link your accounts, as these falls outside of their terms and conditions. “It’s important you are cautious when using these services, especially if another player ask you to sign up to them. Genuine online services won’t require you complete a trade to login, or ask you to give your 2SV code to anyone else.” To see if you have been hacked, check your online accounts to see if there has been any unauthorised activity. Things to look out for include:
