Money Laundering Reported in Mobile Games

Kromtech, a German cybersecurity company, has recently published a report headlining that money laundering has taken place in some of the more popular mobile games on the market such as Clash of Clans and Clash Royale. While most people play these games get through their commute or hang out with friends, others are using it to make a quick buck at someone else's expense. While not anyone can just hop on and steal their neighbors' money, some of the more tech-savvy crooks are taking advantage of the popularity of these games.

From April to June 2018, more than 20,000 credit cards were stolen and used in Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Marvel Contest of Champions. With the games' $330 million in revenue, it is no surprise that internet thieves are targeting games like this to launder their stolen money. The thieves aren't trying to get ahead in the game though; they simply make huge bulk purchases and then resell the accounts to a third party, essentially ridding themselves of any evidence to the crime.

The whole idea is pretty straight forward and, for someone who has basic programming skills, can be done with ease. The only thing you need to make an in-app purchase is an Apple ID, which is extremely easy to create with a fake email address. The only barrier to entry is an email address, allowing these internet hooligans set up a bunch of fake emails, create an automated Apple ID creation program, and essentially made an endless flow of fake accounts to launder money through.

A MongoDB database was the first collection of this stolen data that Kromtech found. After doing some more digging, they found that the databases were only a couple months old and almost all solely used by "carders" aka credit card thieves.

The reports have been sent to the Department of Justice and Kromtech urges Apple to make their systems more secure and require developers to follow suit.