It's always a shame to hear about scammers, especially when it comes to indie developers and smaller stores. IndieGameStand has written a blog post about it and it doesn't paint a pretty picture.
I didn't think it was as bad as that blog post makes it out to be, but wow it really is a problem.
Considering most of that was in the last year, that's a flipping crazy amount of fraud for a smaller store to have to deal with.
I've seen lots of comments over the past few months about people using resellers to get cheap deals: I hope this is a bit of a wakeup call. It's why we always shoot down people suggesting we have our own store on one of these websites reselling keys, as I refuse.
I couldn't have put it better myself.
I think part of it is down to developers too though, if you're going to give out multiple keys you should keep accurate records of how many went where.
You have to think: why is it so cheap here, yet higher on the developers official website and other main stores like Games Republic, GOG, IGS, Itch, Steam or Humble. The answer is usually: It's not a legitimate key.
You should always try to support the developer on one of these better known websites, and not key resellers. It's just a simple fact.
The real issue is the checks all the stores end up having to do, as they end up hitting the legitimate customers and the store suffers overall.
It's a problem that won't really go away, and that's a shame. I'm sure there's more Steam could do to help though, but we know how long it can take Valve to get moving. It's also a tricky issue, as measures Valve put in place could end up hurting developers as well. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I didn't think it was as bad as that blog post makes it out to be, but wow it really is a problem.
QuoteIndieGameStand has had $30,759.42 in fraudulent credit card charges and transactions.
Considering most of that was in the last year, that's a flipping crazy amount of fraud for a smaller store to have to deal with.
I've seen lots of comments over the past few months about people using resellers to get cheap deals: I hope this is a bit of a wakeup call. It's why we always shoot down people suggesting we have our own store on one of these websites reselling keys, as I refuse.
QuoteThe problem with these sites like G2A, Fast2Play, Pingwin, etc. is that they have created an ecosystem for hackers, scammers, identity thefts and other internet assholes to steal from indie developers and other small websites.
I couldn't have put it better myself.
I think part of it is down to developers too though, if you're going to give out multiple keys you should keep accurate records of how many went where.
You have to think: why is it so cheap here, yet higher on the developers official website and other main stores like Games Republic, GOG, IGS, Itch, Steam or Humble. The answer is usually: It's not a legitimate key.
You should always try to support the developer on one of these better known websites, and not key resellers. It's just a simple fact.
The real issue is the checks all the stores end up having to do, as they end up hitting the legitimate customers and the store suffers overall.
It's a problem that won't really go away, and that's a shame. I'm sure there's more Steam could do to help though, but we know how long it can take Valve to get moving. It's also a tricky issue, as measures Valve put in place could end up hurting developers as well. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I did not know that G2A is a bad store, it is almost the only i use for buying games. :S
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G2A also likes to spam YouTube with reuploaded (i.e. "stolen" ) videos, where they then add a lot of keywords and links to G2A. My xoreos and ScummVM-related videos have been hit with that multiple times.
Last edited by DrMcCoy on 8 March 2016 at 1:50 pm UTC
Last edited by DrMcCoy on 8 March 2016 at 1:50 pm UTC
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Considering how little I have spent on games from legitimate stores, I have never understood the desire to move to more shady resellers. Digital distribution makes things cheap already, especially when it comes to the kinds of games you would find on IGS.
Kind of goes with what I said in a thread earlier about itch.io though - I am not comfortable with handing out my financial information to too many different groups. If they are scamming them, they could scam you, which is part of the reason why I am conservative about using new storefronts.
Kind of goes with what I said in a thread earlier about itch.io though - I am not comfortable with handing out my financial information to too many different groups. If they are scamming them, they could scam you, which is part of the reason why I am conservative about using new storefronts.
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Comandante Ñoñardo Mar 8, 2016
I used G2A for to purchase Steam credit for my second Steam account, 100% Linux, as, according to the steam support, I can not use the same credit card or the same paypal account on two or more Steam accounts... I didn't have any problem with the purchased steam wallet keys..
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boltronics Mar 9, 2016
I buy most of my games from SteamBitShop or IndieGala, since they accept Bitcoin. Sometimes Humble Bundle accepts Bitcoin (but not usually), so I occasionally buy from them. Sometimes I'll reluctantly pay using PayPal as a payment, but I almost never hand over my credit card (well, limited debit card) details directly.
I would happily buy keys from Steam or the developers directly, if Bitcoin was an option there.
I would happily buy keys from Steam or the developers directly, if Bitcoin was an option there.
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I became aware of that problem last year when Witcher 3 released, and it could be bought for only 20€ on G2A on release day. This clearly showed me there is something wrong here. After a bit of research, things like credit card frauds and Youtube/Streamer reselling their free keys came up. What is new to me, is that this thing even hurts the small ones really bad. And that is not acceptable.
I will continue to buy my games either from Steam, Humble, GoG, Itch, or from the developer directly (which is what I most often do with every music CD I buy).
In my opinion the big shops should stop accepting credit card as a valid payment option, even paypal is more secure. But being from Germany I have a natural instinct against credit card, this may vary in other countries ;)
I will continue to buy my games either from Steam, Humble, GoG, Itch, or from the developer directly (which is what I most often do with every music CD I buy).
In my opinion the big shops should stop accepting credit card as a valid payment option, even paypal is more secure. But being from Germany I have a natural instinct against credit card, this may vary in other countries ;)
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boltronics Mar 9, 2016
Quoting: Grimfistwhich is what I most often do with every music CD I buy
Again, I do that when Bitcoin is supported (eg. http://www.shanthagopian.com/ ) but unfortunately I don't see it happening enough.
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Well, I don't use other stores than Steam [at all]. Not because Steam is so cheap, but I like to have my games in one place and support the company and game developers trying hard and investing money to push linux gaming a bit forward.
Well, not saying I never buy on steam sale (some titles are in my feeling too expensive for what I expect of them), but there I'm pretty confident the developers agreed to the sale and at least get the money.
Well, not saying I never buy on steam sale (some titles are in my feeling too expensive for what I expect of them), but there I'm pretty confident the developers agreed to the sale and at least get the money.
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"The problem with these sites like G2A, Fast2Play, Pingwin, etc. is that they have created an ecosystem for hackers, scammers, identity thefts and other internet assholes to steal from indie developers and other small websites."
They don't, really?
They buy the key from a seller like "IndieGameStand" with stolen money, and then sell it to end customer for cheaper. The indie store gets their money all the same, the developer gets their money all the same. It's not "theft" of the game, it's dirty (stolen) money laundering.
Of course, situation is different when the fraudulent transaction gets discovered by the bank/whoever the money was stolen from, and charges for the money back, but that's not really special to stores like g2a.com, somebody can steal your credit card personally, buy games for their personal use, and you can ask for refund as well, it's all the same.
I am not saying this is okay or anything, but these people oversimplify things a lot.
They don't, really?
They buy the key from a seller like "IndieGameStand" with stolen money, and then sell it to end customer for cheaper. The indie store gets their money all the same, the developer gets their money all the same. It's not "theft" of the game, it's dirty (stolen) money laundering.
Of course, situation is different when the fraudulent transaction gets discovered by the bank/whoever the money was stolen from, and charges for the money back, but that's not really special to stores like g2a.com, somebody can steal your credit card personally, buy games for their personal use, and you can ask for refund as well, it's all the same.
I am not saying this is okay or anything, but these people oversimplify things a lot.
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