Bitcoin fraudsters took advantage of the drama surrounding the leak of the popular Grand Theft Auto (GTA) video game series. The game is currently in development in its sixth installment by the legendary studio Rockstar, but a bad actor was able to infiltrate their network and steal critical data from the project.
Rockstar games confirmed hacked ones through their official Twitter handle by labeling them as an “illegal” breach of their systems. The hacker operates under the name “Teapot” and was able to download “confidential information,” the legendary game studio confirmed, “including early development footage for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto.”
The hacker took to the GTA forums to share more than 90 clips from the upcoming title and threatened to release more information, including the source code of GTA 5. The hacker posted a Telegram account and asked representatives of Rockstar to contact him or anyone willing to buy the stolen information.
Scammers stole Bitcoin in exchange for fake GTA 6 data
The bad actor specifically asked for bids above 5 figures in US dollars. Meanwhile, impersonators were offering the data in exchange for Bitcoin. According to a report by YouTuber MrMattyPlays, someone sent 2.2 Bitcoin (BTC) or about $100,000 to buy the data.
However, the Rockstar hacker denied that the money was transferred to his wallet confirming that people were being scammed by these impersonators. Bitcoin explorer mempool.space shows that the scam-associated address Bc1q5ctpkgan2npcwwsq9esvuq2fzne3m6qd8he7c5 currently has about $96,690 from 6 transactions.
As the report claims, Teapot was identified by a group of hackers allegedly as a 16-year-old teenager based in the United Kingdom. The hacker was linked to another massive cyberattack on Uber and other companies, and is currently under investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The alleged hacker was already accused of illegal cyber activity in the UK, for which he deleted the Telegram channel and other social media accounts. The team behind Rockstar have not commented on the latest or any investigation, they did express their disappointment at the attack, but claim that the game will not be affected:
Our work on the upcoming Grand Theft Auto games will continue as planned and we are as committed as anyone to providing you, our players, with an experience that truly exceeds your expectations.
Will GTA 6 have in-game Bitcoin transactions?
Several reports from gaming outlets have been able to confirm some of the possible features and details of the upcoming GTA 6 series. The game will take place in the fictional “Vice City”, where players will supposedly be able to play as GTA’s first female protagonist and interact with local wildlife, drive new vehicles and more.
However, the game is currently in a very early stage of development and anything can be subject to change. As Bitcoinist reported in 2021, there were rumors of in-game Bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions taking place in GTA 6.
According to Watcher Guru, the leaked data shows no evidence that the developer plans to include such features. At the time of writing, BTC price is trading at $19,300 with a 2% gain in the last 24 hours.
