Riot Games suing over job recruiting scam ring

The dream seemed possible at first glance. An email was sent to a potential worker in the games industry asking for them to submit their application for a position at Riot Games. They were offered the job after a short interview that took place over Discord and email. It looked all official. The paperwork contained the Riot logo as well as professional job copy. It was sent by someone who apparently worked for Riot Games. Then, the Riot Games human resources representative — or, rather, a person posing as a representative — started asking for money.

Young, fresh out of college and uneasy about the hiring process during the pandemic, this applicant applied. They went along with the process, supplying the representative with the information they asked for: Everything from banking information for direct deposit and hundreds of dollars for an “expensable” Apple iPad Pro.

When they tried to cash the reimbursement check, that’s when they got denied: It was all a scam. They hadn’t gotten a job at Riot Games, and now they were out hundreds of dollars.

Riot Games

“I’ve been rejected from a lot of jobs,” they told Polygon. “This felt much worse.”

This work-recruitment fraud affected more than one applicant. Polygon spoke to several people who’ve been contacted by the scam ring, each of whom described a complex process that included multiple rounds of interviews, as well as a doctored onboarding process and contract materials. Riot Games is not the only game company being impersonated; sources tell Polygon they’ve been contacted by scammers posing as HR and recruiting representatives at Rockstar Games and Manticore Games, among others. But Riot Games is the studio that’s now taking action.

Riot Games has filed suit against unidentified scammers, in California in November. According to Riot attorney Dan Nabel, the lawsuit will help Polygon learn more details about the scammers. They must be tracked down in order to hold them accountable.

“[The scam] is absolutely appalling,” Riot’s lawyers wrote in the complaint. “Their victims largely are young, naïve, and want nothing more than to work for Riot, one of the most prestigious video game companies in the world. Defendants prey on the hopes and dreams of these individuals in order to steal their identities and pillage their bank accounts.”

Riot Games

However, there are two approaches to the scam: One recruiter contacts some applicants, while other candidates apply for fake positions on Indeed. The scammers then contact hopeful applicants via Discord, email or other chat platforms, pretending to be Riot Games managers and human resource employees. The platform used by victims was a factor in the decision to make the handle appear professional. A Discord account that bears the name of a Riot Games recruiter might be one example. Interview rounds would then take place with an impersonated Riot employee, over the same platforms, with the scammer asking detailed questions about the applicant’s personal work experience.

Soon after targeting an applicant and taking them through a fake interview process, the scammer will reply with a job offer, including a contract bearing the Riot Games logo, signed by a “chief HR officer.” Applicants are then asked to transfer money for “work equipment,” which will be “refundable” via an online check that turns out to be fraudulent.

When reached for comment by Polygon, Indeed said it goes to “extraordinary lengths” to remove fraudulent job postings. “We encourage job seekers to report any suspicious job advertisements to us, or if they feel it necessary, to make a report to the police,” an Indeed representative said. “We encourage all job seekers to review our Guidelines for a Safe Job Search.”

Nabel said to Polygon Riot Games learned about the scam several months ago when someone was victim of the scheme and contacted them after filing a local police report. Riot began investigating after receiving similar emails and support tickets. Nabel said that police departments and even federal law enforcement aren’t equipped to take on these sorts of scams, since they’re often international in scope. It’s hard for federal law enforcement to take action for that same reason. Nabel said Riot isn’t entirely clear on how many folks have been impacted by the scam thus far, but at least one person got in contact with Riot to confirm they had been lost money to the scam. Polygon interviewed at least one victim of the scammers who also sent them money, as well as five people who were approached by the group for interviews and received emails.

“We’re upset that people who viewed Riot as their dream company, even if that’s one person, had been defrauded through this scam,” Nabel said. “Secondarily, we felt a need to protect our employees who are having their identities impersonated.”

The people who have been defrauded in these scams typically won’t get their money back. One victim told Polygon that both the bank and police said it was too late, since they weren’t hacked or forced to give up the money. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission lists some steps victims can take immediately following a scam — including how to report it — but oftentimes the funds are already lost.

Riot Games

Experts have pointed out that the COVID-19 epidemic is responsible for the rise in scams. There’s a confluence of reasons for the increase: A lot of people are out of work due to the pandemic and desperate for new options. The rise of remote-work culture also contributes to this. Many job applicants are now tied to their devices and sometimes lacking essential security. The FTC reported in February that scam victims lost more than $3.3 billion in 2020 — an increase of 83% compared to 2019. There’s the tendency to think that older people, over 70 or so, are more likely to be scammed, but the FTC said 44% of the 2020 reports were made by people aged 20 to 29.

“80% or more of what’s fueling this problem is that you don’t have a physical office location to visit and say, ‘Oh, I can see the logo of the game company, and I can see the employees walking around,’” Nabel said. “When it’s all done remotely, it makes people more susceptible to this kind of predatory behavior, unfortunately.”