As Rockstar Games announced pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) will be available from June 25, scammers have already whipped up fake websites offering early access.
These websites are offering access to GTA 6 and VIP early access if victims pay a few hundred dollars in cryptocurrency, enter a payment code and supposedly unlock the game.
“Any site claiming to sell GTA 6 early access is not authorized by Rockstar Games and should be treated as fraudulent unless Rockstar announces it through official channels,” Stafan Dasic, senior malware research engineer at Malwarebytes, wrote in a blog on June 23.
Speaking to Infosecurity, Dasic said, “From my experience, there is always a rise of scams when something gets hyped in the media. So, I predict we will definitely see more and more GTA 6-related scams and phishing pages (possibly stealing logins/key activations).”
On whether the scam pages will be taken down, he said, “It all depends on the hosting company, as sometimes they respond to the abuse reports and sometimes they don’t.”
For the victims of these scams, because the payment is made in cryptocurrency there is usually no way to get your money back as there is no fraud department involved unlike when a bank payment is made. No access to the game will be granted via these illegitimate channels.
“Scams like this work because they mix something people want with tactics designed to create urgency,” wrote Dasic.
He noted that there has been a 13-year gap between the release of GTA 5 in 2013 and the latest version of the game.
The scam websites look polished and professional with the payment method designed to be smooth, making the offer feel legitimate.
Malwarebytes advises gamers to trust only official Rockstar announcements, avoid unsolicited links and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on gaming accounts.
The game is set to be launched on November 19, 2026. The only way to access pre-orders is through Rockstar Games and its authorized retailers like the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store.
