Russian authorities have identified a sophisticated new scam leveraging the popular game Minecraft to exploit children.
The Moscow Department of Education and Science issued a stark warning about fraudulent schemes originating in Minecraft’s in-game chats. Scammers reportedly identify schoolchildren within these chats and then lure them into moving conversations to Telegram, ostensibly to discuss game-related topics.
Once contact is established on Telegram, the fraudsters impersonate “cybersecurity employees.” They falsely accuse the children of transmitting sensitive information to special services and begin threatening them with arrest.
Under severe psychological pressure, the minors are then coerced into stealing money from their parents and handing it over to couriers dispatched by the scammers.