Scammers Are Taking Advantage of Hype for PS5 Emulators by Tricking Gamers Into Downloading Malware

Security experts have issued a warning over fake PS5 emulators after they found scammers were tricking gamers into downloading malware.

NordVPN's Threat Intelligence research team said it had identified a scam campaign that was spreading malware through GitHub repositories disguised as PS5 emulation software for PC.

The scammers are exploiting two well-known emulator projects to trick gamers into downloading what appears to be an infostealer. The malware uses heavy anti-analysis tricks to evade detection, adds itself to Windows Defender exclusions, and deletes its own traces after infection, NordVPN said.

The scam campaign is taking advantage of increasing interest in PS5 emulation on PC, which has exploded in recent months as hackers use AI to assist their efforts. PS5 exclusives such as Astro Bot and the Demon’s Souls Remake, for example, were recently shown running on PC.

"Emulation fans are a perfect target. They are used to downloading experimental software from GitHub and running unsigned files, so nothing about this feels suspicious," said Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN. "But this is not an emulator. It steals your data, hides from your antivirus, and erases its own tracks before you notice anything is wrong."

Last week, Sony issued a new PS5 firmware update that some believe was designed to combat the homebrew community's ongoing effort to jailbreak the console. There is a game of Whac-A-Mole at play where the homebrew scene is working to release a new jailbreak for the latest PS5 firmware, then do it all over again when Sony releases a new firmware update designed to beef up security.

This in turn has sparked concern that if a PS5 jailbreak is made available for the firmware that is required by GTA 6, which comes out next month, then it may be possible for Rockstar’s game to be pirated on PS5 and maybe even made available on PC.

IGN reported on a hacker who had sparked an uproar within the PS5 homebrew scene for privately reporting an exploit to Sony and cashing in on a $50,000 reward, rather than keeping it confidential for the community.

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images.