When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
The complaint identifies the distribution channel only as a "popular digital distribution software company," but the games it lists, including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lunara , and PirateFi , match the titles named when the FBI began seeking victims of infected Steam games in March. The case is being prosecuted in Seattle federal court, near Valve 's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, and Wilkins' arrest is the first publicly reported in the investigation.
The conspirators promoted the games on Discord, Telegram, X, and LinkedIn, and used bots to find users with large cryptocurrency holdings and message them directly, according to the complaint. Roughly 80 wallets were drained from 8,000 infections, a hit rate of about 1% consistent with that targeted approach. ZachXBT and vx-underground estimated BlockBlasters alone took more than $150,000 from between 261 and 478 victims, including $32,000 in donated cancer treatment funds taken from a Twitch streamer in September 2025.
Kaspersky finds malware hidden in Steam Wallpaper Engine that hijacks accounts to spread itself
Windows 11 identifier used to track Scattered Spider perp after Microsoft shared info with FBI
Ransomware negotiator pleads guilty after leaking victims' insurance details to 'BlackCat' hackers
Wilkins faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted and was scheduled to appear in Fort Lauderdale federal court on July 15. Valve, whose storefront has seen a steady run of malware incidents over the past two years, including the Chemia Early Access game that shipped with three malware strains , hadn't responded to Local 10's request for comment as of publication.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/cyber-security/fbi-arrests-florida-man-in-steam-malware-investigaton-after-tracing-stolen-bitcoin-to-uber-eats-gift-cards#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/subscription
- TSMC confirms significant yield and performance improvements in A14 update — strong interest from AI/HPC and smartphone customers
- AI data centers must produce as much power as they use, Australia PM says — new national AI framework will also ensure water efficiency and protect intellectual
- ‘Phantom Twist’ drone spins so fast that it is nearly invisible — flying device adds motion blur to the real world
- Crazed enthusiast runs PC on 192 AA batteries, successfully boots into Hannah Montana Linux — System is stable during stress testing and even plays FreeDoom
- Government can seize private land to make way for new AI data center transmission lines, report says — takeovers could be implemented using eminent domain law w
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.