Search Everything in One Place

Explore the web, images, videos, news, and more – all in one place.

News

FBI arrests 21-year-old who allegedly stole $200,000 with malware-infected Steam games

The seal of the FBI; A laptop showing the Steam logo.
FBI arrests 21-year-old who allegedly stole $200,000 with malware-infected Steam games

Alleged cybercriminals have to eat, too.

The FBI has arrested a 21-year-old Florida resident, identified as Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins, for allegedly distributing malware embedded in a series of Steam games to approximately 8,000 PCs. Arrested last week, Wilkins—alongside two unnamed co-conspirators—is accused of using the private information stolen from those infected computers to steal over $200,000 in cryptocurrency.

According to criminal complaint filed by the FBI (via Techspot), Wilkins and his associates allegedly encouraged social media users to download their malware-laden games on Discord, Telegram, X, and LinkedIn, while also employing chatbots to identify and prioritize "individuals with large cryptocurrency holdings."

Steam mobile app on a Oneplus android mobile device.
((Image credit: Future))

The FBI doesn't name Steam in the document, but refers to the weaponized games as being "available for download on a popular digital distribution software company for videogames located in the Western District of Washington," and the games it says were used for distributing malware—Dashverse (2024), Lunara (2024), PirateFi (2025), Blockblasters (2025), and Lampy (2026)—had all been previously named in its March 2026 call for information from users who had downloaded malicious software through Steam.

According to the FBI, it was able to identify Wilkins when Google cookie records indicated that the email address tied to one of the co-conspirators' Steam developer accounts was accessed through the same devices and web browsers used by a cluster of other Google addresses, which were themselves associated with Apple and T-Mobile accounts.

After obtaining a search warrant for the address associated with those Apple and T-Mobile accounts, the FBI seized a number of devices from the premises in February 2026, one of which allegedly contained records of messages coordinating the Steam malware scheme and Bitcoin payments sent from the co-conspirator to a Signal user named "Sibel.eth."

Sibel.eth was identified as Wilkins when investigators found that the Bitcoin wallet which received those payments was used to purchase over 150 gift cards, some of which were used for UberEats orders allegedly linked to Wilkins' University of West Florida student email address.

The FBI doesn't identify the co-conspirator, who allegedly wrote the malware embedded within the weaponized Steam games. During the two years in which the co-conspirators distributed malware on the platform, the FBI says they gained access to roughly 80 cryptocurrency wallets, from which they stole at least $220,000—an amount which includes $35,000 stolen from streamer RastalandTV that he'd raised to pay for his stage 4 cancer treatments.

Swen Vincke says the price of RAM and SSDs means Larian will be doing lots of optimisation in Divinity's early access 'that we didn't necessarily want to do at that point in time'

2026 games: All the upcoming games

Best PC games: Our all-time favorites

Free PC games: Freebie fest

Best FPS games: Finest gunplay

Best RPGs: Grand adventures

Best co-op games: Better together

Like this article? For more stories like this, follow us on MSN by clicking the +Follow button at the top of this page.

Read full story on PC Gamer

Related News

More stories you might be interested in.

Boxing star Hannah Rapp was killed while biking after boyfriend made perfectly innocent gesture at reckless driver: cops
New York Post·1 day ago

Boxing star Hannah Rapp was killed while biking after boyfriend made perfectly innocent gesture at reckless driver: cops

It’s a gesture that any cyclist has probably made at a car that veered too close — and cops say it cost boxing star Hannah Rapp her life. Rapp, 26, an up-and-coming featherweight fighter, was cycling along a two-lane highway, FM 159, in Brazos County, Texas, on Saturday, when investigators say 31-year-old Charles Medina overtook her and her boyfriend Will Pollalis in his car with just a foot to spare. Pollalis yelled at the driver and raised his...

Top