Gamers looking to jack some vehicles in the virtual streets of Grand Theft Auto V should steer clear of a torrent circulating the internet. The file claiming to be a leak of the newest title in the immensely popular video game franchise is really an elaborate scam to charge mobile devices and jack up computers with malware.
Users who choose to install the highly anticipated game will be unable to finish until they complete a survey and receive a confirmation code, according to a tweet by Romania-based security company Bitdefender.
In a crafty move by the attacker, the survey can only be completed by sending an SMS text message to a number that, unbeknownst to the downloader, is actually a premium service that will charge a daily fee until the service is manually cancelled.
While charges begin surreptitiously racking up on mobile devices for those who send out the SMS, completing the installation actually leaves users with a copy of another popular video game, The Cave, as well as a less celebrated piece of malware, known as Trojan.GenericKDV.1134859.
Those who have already fell victim to the scam can remove the trojan from their computers via any reputable anti-virus. Not removing the virus may result in tampering or theft of information on the computer or even enlisting the user's machine into a botnet. Service providers should be phoned to put a stop to the daily SMS text message fees.
While Grand Theft Auto V is set to hit the streets on Sept. 17 for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, there has been no confirmation of a PC release by developer Rockstar Games.
