GTA 6 Scammers Are Already Making A Fortune Ahead Of 2026's Biggest Game Release

With the next Grand Theft Auto tipped to be the biggest video game of all time, is it any surprise that the various bad actors are trying to get in on the action? Thanks to a little helping hand from GTA Online, 2013's GTA V went on to become the most profitable entertainment product of all time. We know the budget for GTA VI is said to have ballooned to astronomical highs, but it increasingly feels like there's no way it won't surpass its predecessor. Despite Rockstar Games only giving us two trailers, GTA VI continues to break records with the few morsels we've been fed, and it threatens to send the internet into meltdown any time we get even a whiff of something new.

Despite some early fears, publisher Take-Two Interactive has reiterated that GTA VI will release on November 19, with a veritable pre-order pandemic taking over in recent weeks.

Watch Out For GTA VI Scams

While most of us are deciding which collector's edition of GTA VI to stump up for, there are warnings that scammers are already making the most of our pre-order interest. In a report from NordVPN’s Threat Intelligence team (via Mashable), we're told to watch out for fake installers and phishing pages, as well as incorrect claims about early access to the game's beta access, and a deluge of Android adware.

NordVPN explains that the most common scam is from sites that promise to deliver PS5 and Xbox Series beta keys. Before you get there, you're funnelled through bot checks, paid-for subscriptions, and unwanted apps that threaten to infect your devices with malware.

There's also an apparent Android app that goes under the name 'GTA 6 Beta' and even uses Rockstar-inspired branding in an intro video. Once you finally get inside, you'll be bombarded with full-screen ads and sent toward subscription traps or malware that's hidden behind fake verification steps.

Remember that Rockstar has made no official announcement on the idea of a public beta.

Discussing these threats, NordVPN CTO Marijus Briedis explained: "GTA VI is one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history, and that level of public excitement is exactly what criminals look for. When people are desperate to get early access to something, their guard comes down. That's the window attackers exploit."

Fake Piracy Sites Are All The Rage

More than this, these scammers are even faking piracy sites. Certain sites like FitGirl, DODI, and ElAmigos are already frowned upon, but when fake clones of these are being used to spread GTA VI malware, the situation is even more dire.

NordVPN supposedly discovered a 'malicious package' in one cloned piracy site, which "presented itself as a legitimate game installer." For those unfortunate enough to download it, trojanized malicious files were able to hide as a NVIDIA graphics driver component.

Operating undetected, this malware modifies a computer's memory, downloads other malware, and connects to external servers where cybercriminals can send instructions to the malicious file.

Finally, Rockstar Social Club platform users are being targeted via "hundreds of amateur phishing pages targeting Rockstar Social Club credentials through fake login forms."

As trusted sites like GitHub and Verce are also being used as dupes, we're going to have to keep our wits about us as things inevitably ramp up toward GTA VI's official release.

READ MORE: 5 GTA Characters Most Likely To Return In GTA 6