Young fans of Minecraft and Roblox are increasingly being drawn into the world of crime. This warning came from cybersecurity specialists at The Hacking Games, as well as former hackers who themselves went through a similar "school".
One such expert is Conor Freeman, a former cybercriminal and now an employee of the company. According to him, his path into the world of hacking began at the age of 12 with a seemingly harmless offer in Minecraft.
Another player showed him a cheat client that allowed access to an inaccessible area of the map, and then offered to teach him how to use such tools. Over time, a simple interest in cheats escalated into more serious crimes.
He asked if I wanted to see a cool trick. I was a curious kid and I agreed. That's how it all started. What began as mischief in Minecraft turned into hacking other people's accounts. And then — into cryptocurrency theft. Each subsequent step seemed insignificant.
According to Freeman, recruitment usually begins directly within gaming communities, after which communication moves to third-party platforms — it used to be Skype, but now it's most often Discord.
The problem is causing increasing concern among law enforcement agencies. According to official data, one in five children aged 10 to 16 has at least once engaged in online activity that potentially violates the British Computer Misuse Act — including hacking and unauthorized access.
In addition, statistics from Europol and the FBI, cited by The Hacking Games, show that 61% of suspected cybercriminals started hacking before the age of 16, and many first encountered it through forums dedicated to game cheats.