INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightValveImage caption
Keys are widely traded on Steam's marketplace
Criminals have been
laundering money via the popular Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) video game, says creator Valve.In a statement, it said the game
had been targeted by global cyber-criminals looking to "liquidate their gains".The thieves exploited the game's loot-gathering systems,
which allow players to trade keys and unlock rewards for real cash.Valve said it had updated the game so keys could no longer be traded
online.Video game CS:GO pits two teams against each other on a small map
Their task is to try to eliminate each other and carry out other objectives such as protecting hostages or planting a bomb.Figures from
Valve suggest the game had more than 18 million unique players last month.While playing CS:GO, gamers could earn loot boxes containing
cosmetic upgrades for their avatars or weapons
The only way to open the loot containers was to buy a key from Valve
Both boxes and keys could be traded for real cash on the Steam marketplace.Valve said until recently keys were generally traded between real
But now this had changed as fraudsters had targeted the game
"At this point, nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced," it said.It
is not clear how much money was being laundered via the Steam marketplace but hundreds of thousands of boxes and keys have been traded via
Most keys and boxes sell for a few dollars each.Players will still be able to buy keys to open containers they get via gameplay, said Valve
Following the latest update to the game, keys will be bound to a player's account so they cannot be transferred.It admitted that the change
would hit some legitimate players but said its desire to combat fraud came first.Image copyrightValveImage caption
Fraudsters may switch to target other games such as Team Fortress 2, said one expert
Writing on the Rock Paper Shotgun
gaming news site, Craig Pearson said the keys were used by fraudsters because they had a "consistent price" across Steam
This, he said, let "traders, both legitimate and heinous, use them as a base currency".Fraudsters are expected to target trading in other
Valve games such as Team Fortress 2 or Dota 2, he added
Valve has taken action several times to limit use and abuse of the CS:GO trading system.It has limited trading in the past when it emerged
that some traders were, in effect, using items as gambling chips
It has also stopped players in the Netherlands and Belgium opening loot boxes following rulings that that mechanism violated local gambling
