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Florida man charged over Steam game crypto malware
A Florida man faces charges over malware-linked Steam games allegedly used to infect 8,000 devices and steal at least $220,000 in crypto.
Image: The Verge
Federal authorities have arrested 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins, accusing him and unnamed co-conspirators of using malware-infected video games to steal at least $220,000 in cryptocurrency.
According to the complaint, the group launched eight malware-embedded games between approximately May 2024 and February 2026. The operation allegedly infected about 8,000 devices and accessed 80 crypto wallets.
Games named in the investigation
The complaint does not explicitly say the games were uploaded to Steam, Valve’s gaming platform. However, the FBI described the case as a “Steam malware investigation,” and the games listed in the complaint include:
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- BlockBlasters
- Chemia
- Dashverse/DashFPS
- Lampy
- Lunara
- PirateFi
- Tokenova
Several outlets reported last year that Steam removed some of the titles. BlockBlasters allegedly stole more than $150,000 from victims, including a streamer collecting money for cancer treatment. The complaint was filed in a Washington court, where Valve is based. Valve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The complaint alleges that Wilkins and his co-conspirators “marketed the malware-embedded video games on social media and messaging platforms, such as Discord, Telegram, X / Twitter, and LinkedIn, and encouraged others to download the games.” Authorities say the malware was then used to steal private information and drain victims' crypto wallets.
How investigators identified Wilkins
Federal agents reportedly connected Wilkins to the scheme after obtaining a crypto wallet address from messages with an alleged co-conspirator. Investigators traced the address to a Bitrefill account, where users can buy gift cards with cryptocurrency.
The account allegedly purchased more than 150 gift cards, including Uber Eats cards. Authorities used those transactions to identify Wilkins' phone number and eventually locate an address.
Wilkins was arrested on July 14 and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain.
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Sophia unpacks the invisible wars happening on our networks. Covering cybersecurity, privacy legislation, and cryptography, she exposes how our data is weaponized and defended. Before joining for(geeks), she spent years as a penetration tester. She's the reason the rest of the team uses physical security keys.
via The Verge
