Cancer Patient Scammed Out of $32,000 After Downloading Malware Game on Steam

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"I Might End Up On Street Again Or Not have Anything To Eat In Few Days..."

Story Highlight
  • A cancer patient lost $32,000 after he downloaded a game on Steam that had malware injected.
  • Steam has now delisted the affected game.
  • The person behind the scam has been exposed for running a whole network of malware on the platform.

Despite numerous game stores available, Steam is the forefront of PC gaming and hosts hundreds of millions of players every month. As such, Valve’s gaming store has become an image for PC gaming as a whole.

Despite being such a big platform, it seems that Steam may not be a safe place for gamers after all. A streamer battling Stage 4 cancer lost a whopping $32,000 of his creator fees secured for his treatment after he was told to download a game on Steam, which apparently contained malware.

Why it matters: Nothing can justify a central platform like Steam allowing malware to slip through in the games it distributes. Valve needs to strengthen its security further to provide a safe and private space for gamers.

steam malware case
Streamer Sharing How He Fell Victim To The $32,000 Scam

RastalandTV took to social media to explain what happened during his latest stream. A viewer told him to download a verified game on Steam, which resulted in his account being drained of $32,000 he had raised so far in creator fees from his $CANCER token on PumpFun.

I might end up on street again or not have anything to eat in few days… my heart wants to jump out of my mouth and it hurts.

The title in question, BlockBlasters, had an update on August 30, infecting the game with malware. Valve has apparently taken notice of this matter and delisted the game from Steam.

Still, it’s pretty baffling that the title was verified and available to download in the first place.

Valve Creator Gabe Newell
Steam Recently Had 40 Million Concurrent Players

Fortunately, the person behind the attack has been unmasked by the community, and it seems like this case isn’t his first rodeo. The culprit has been running a whole network of malware on Steam.

For RastalandTV, he has been receiving unwavering support from the gaming community, with many offering to compensate for what he lost.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments below, or at the official Tech4Gamers Forums.

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