Like to buy games online? Splurge on cool gear and loot boxes? Would you give your right arm for a good discount, and do you trust online sellers without a second thought? Congratulations, you\u2019re a sitting duck for cybercriminals who hunt for credit card details and gaming accounts, or trade nonexistent items. We explain how to buy online without pouring money down the drain.<\/p>\n
It may sound obvious, but official stores are the only places you should purchase games, virtual accessories, gaming merch, and other related items. That\u2019s not because it\u2019s what good children do; it\u2019s simply the only way to get at least some guarantees. If you buy something on a shady site and the seller disappears, your money is gone for good.<\/p>\n
So, our first recommendation is to shop for PC games either on well-known platforms like Steam and GOG or on official developer sites, download mobile apps from the App Store or Google Play, and buy in-game items only in games.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking to buy an unusual mod, you may have luck on developers\u2019 websites. Steam Workshop, for example, is a good place to find other players\u2019 creations. But no-name sites pushing awesome mods aren\u2019t worth the risk.<\/p>\n\n
Shopping sales and promotions is a good way to save money \u2014 if you do it with care. For example, the Epic Games Store regularly gives away games<\/a>. But don\u2019t rush to click the link in an e-mail promising a huge discount on a just-released AAA title. The most tempting offers are usually a scam. Instead, manually enter the URL of the developer\u2019s or store\u2019s website in your browser and see if the discount is mentioned there\u00a0\u2014 if not, it\u2019s not real.<\/p>\n Another way people try to save money is by shopping for second-hand accounts or game keys on gray-market sites. Don\u2019t do it<\/a>. The odds are good that the item was stolen and will be blocked \u2014 and because the developers and legal publishers are out of the loop, there are no money-back guarantees.<\/p>\n Before buying, know the store\u2019s rules for returning a game you don\u2019t like or that doesn\u2019t work on your computer. This is especially important if you\u2019re not sure the title is worth the asking price.<\/p>\n Most authorized retailers offer refunds, but terms and conditions may vary. For example, for games from Google Play, you have 48 hours from the time of purchase to make up your mind. Steam might refuse to refund a game you\u2019ve played for more than two hours.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, the rules can vary from game to game. For example, a discounted game might be nonrefundable. It\u2019s best to know such things in advance.<\/p>\n\n Would you believe websites sometimes get hacked? Really! If that misfortune befalls your favorite store, your payment details could end up in cybercriminal hands. Glitches can also lead to leaks of sensitive information, as happened on Steam<\/a>. Instead of linking any card with access to piles of cash, get a debit card for online shopping and top it up as needed. That way, if intruders break in, they won\u2019t get much.<\/p>\n Some banks issue virtual cards specifically for that purpose. You can also look for payment cards meant for gamers, with offers of extra cash back on gaming platforms and in-game bonuses.<\/p>\n On public networks, the information you send online\u00a0\u2014 be it card details or login credentials\u00a0\u2014 is sometimes transmitted unencrypted, meaning network administrators and hackers alike can read it. We recommend logging in to online stores only from home (having properly secured your home network<\/a>, of course).<\/p>\n If, as luck would have it, you\u2019re stuck in a coffee shop as the last seconds of a promotion count down, use a VPN. For example, Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection<\/a> protects your data from interception on a public network.<\/p>\n\n Don\u2019t forget to secure your accounts; that\u2019s where your purchases are stored. To prevent cybercrooks from selling off your collection and spending money on your card, protect your account on Steam<\/a> and Battle.net<\/a>, and on any social network profiles you use to sign in to gaming stores (but don\u2019t use social network accounts to log in elsewhere if you can help it).<\/p>\n For the same reason, it\u2019s important to check which sites you\u2019ve logged in to through social networks. For example, to find the list on Facebook, go to Settings<\/em>, then click Apps and Websites<\/em> in the left-hand menu.<\/p>\n The computers, smartphones, and tablets you use for gaming also need protection. A reliable antivirus<\/a> blocks fraudulent websites and malware, provides alerts about security issues, and, contrary to popular misconception, does not spoil gameplay<\/a>. The gaming mode you\u2019ll find in modern security solutions turns on automatically when you play in full-screen mode.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Seven safety and security rules to keep in mind when buying games and in-game items.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2484,"featured_media":28228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1853,647,178,76,726,164],"class_list":{"0":"post-28227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tips","8":"tag-tips","9":"tag-gamers","10":"tag-online-shopping","11":"tag-phishing","12":"tag-scam","13":"tag-steam"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/28227\/"},{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/22098\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/17576\/"},{"hreflang":"ar","url":"https:\/\/me.kaspersky.com\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/8737\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/23671\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/21803\/"},{"hreflang":"es-mx","url":"https:\/\/latam.kaspersky.com\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/20553\/"},{"hreflang":"es","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.es\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/24237\/"},{"hreflang":"it","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.it\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/23352\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/29478\/"},{"hreflang":"tr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.tr\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/9047\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/37662\/"},{"hreflang":"fr","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.fr\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/15962\/"},{"hreflang":"pt-br","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.br\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/16535\/"},{"hreflang":"pl","url":"https:\/\/plblog.kaspersky.com\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/14171\/"},{"hreflang":"de","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.de\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/25782\/"},{"hreflang":"zh","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.cn\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/12278\/"},{"hreflang":"ja","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.co.jp\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/29572\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/23087\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/safe-shopping-for-gamers\/28404\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/tag\/gamers\/","name":"gamers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2484"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}3. Check the return policy<\/h2>\n
4. Use a dedicated card for online shopping<\/h2>\n
5. Use a secure connection<\/h2>\n
6. Protect your accounts<\/h2>\n
7. Protect your devices<\/h2>\n