‘Build Vice City’ scam hits gamers seeking GTA 6 early access

Many gamers who have waited years for Grand Theft Auto VI are receiving emails inviting them to play a pre-release “beta” version. The invitations, and the websites they link to, are scams; falling for them can see personal data sold or bank details stolen. Gerald Kasulis of NordVPN warns that criminals exploit the urgency and curiosity of players.

“You’re a gamer, you’re waiting for the game, and you get an email that looks really official and polished; with the help of AI, scammers can actually mimic official websites really, really well,” he says. GTA VI is scheduled to arrive on 19 November after its release was postponed twice.

Fake sites claim to offer exclusive early access, supply “beta keys” for consoles or prompt downloads of files described as the new game — one was called GTA Mobile 6. Visitors can be asked for names, addresses, dates of birth or game log-ins; in at least one case downloaded software contained malware that let fraudsters connect to the victim’s computer and harvest sensitive information.

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