Buyer Beware: Free Far Cry 2 Offer is a Scam
Buyer Beware: Free Far Cry 2 Offer is a Scam
February 21, 2009
PC gamers, if you've received an authentic-looking e-mail offer from Steam for a free download of Far Cry 2, don't click through.
The ad is not legit and the link does not go to Steam, but rather to the perhaps aptly-named ripway.com.
Here at GP we received two of these offers yesterday, and several members of the Joystiq crew received them as well.
We've notified Steam and we trust that they are taking the appropriate measures to shut down this apparent scam.
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Posted 03/22/10 at 02:42am
ZippyDSMlee: Like most train wrecks it wont help people much and cost us more in the end than what we would benefit from it.....
ZippyDSMlee: Like most train wrecks it wont help people much and cost us more in the end than what we would benefit from it.....
Posted 03/22/10 at 02:37am
TBoneTony: Great to see MA go to the back bench in SA, hope that new AG is more ballanced
TBoneTony: Great to see MA go to the back bench in SA, hope that new AG is more ballanced
Posted 03/22/10 at 02:36am
TBoneTony: Oh there it is
TBoneTony: Oh there it is
Posted 03/22/10 at 02:36am
TBoneTony: Shout is not working for me at the moment
TBoneTony: Shout is not working for me at the moment
Posted 03/22/10 at 02:34am
SimonBob: (Would you like to rent our Green party? We're not doing anything with it.)
SimonBob: (Would you like to rent our Green party? We're not doing anything with it.)
Posted 03/22/10 at 02:31am
SimonBob: hey america: I was watching CNN earlier, and I was thinking, you guys could use a third party.
SimonBob: hey america: I was watching CNN earlier, and I was thinking, you guys could use a third party.
Posted 03/21/10 at 10:12pm
Valdearg: They beat the parliamentary trick. The senate bill is officially law, pending the President's signature. Now they vote on the fixes to that bill, in the next 15 minutes or so.
Valdearg: They beat the parliamentary trick. The senate bill is officially law, pending the President's signature. Now they vote on the fixes to that bill, in the next 15 minutes or so.
Posted 03/21/10 at 10:04pm
gellymatos: Vald: No worries. I do it all the time. Trying to break the habit.
gellymatos: Vald: No worries. I do it all the time. Trying to break the habit.
Posted 03/21/10 at 10:01pm
Valdearg: @Gelly: Sorry for jumping to conclusions, LOL.. I guess I read your text in a depressed voice in my head. :D
Valdearg: @Gelly: Sorry for jumping to conclusions, LOL.. I guess I read your text in a depressed voice in my head. :D
Posted 03/21/10 at 10:00pm
Valdearg: I'm staying up late, watching CSPAN and MSNBC, and cheering each and every democrat victory.
Valdearg: I'm staying up late, watching CSPAN and MSNBC, and cheering each and every democrat victory.
Posted 03/21/10 at 10:00pm
Valdearg: Yes indeedy. Even Abortion rights got gutted. Obama's going to pass an EO ensuring no federal funds are used for abortions.
Valdearg: Yes indeedy. Even Abortion rights got gutted. Obama's going to pass an EO ensuring no federal funds are used for abortions.
Posted 03/21/10 at 09:59pm
gellymatos: Vald: Who said I didn't like it? I'd get a drink out if there wasn't anything where I am at.
gellymatos: Vald: Who said I didn't like it? I'd get a drink out if there wasn't anything where I am at.
Posted 03/21/10 at 09:59pm
gellymatos: Vald:Well, pretty good day, wouldn't you say?
gellymatos: Vald:Well, pretty good day, wouldn't you say?
Posted 03/21/10 at 09:58pm
Valdearg: Dont sound so depressed, Gelly. This bill will help people get healthcare, who can't now. It's a perfectly Christian idea.
Valdearg: Dont sound so depressed, Gelly. This bill will help people get healthcare, who can't now. It's a perfectly Christian idea.
Posted 03/21/10 at 09:57pm
gellymatos: Well, it's happened. The House Passed the Health Care Bill. Now things get interesting, to say the least.
gellymatos: Well, it's happened. The House Passed the Health Care Bill. Now things get interesting, to say the least.
Posted 03/21/10 at 09:56pm
Valdearg: YES WE CAN!!! YES WE CAN!!! MAJOR HCR Vote passed!! Assuming no idocy, we could see it as law TOMORROW!!!!!!
Valdearg: YES WE CAN!!! YES WE CAN!!! MAJOR HCR Vote passed!! Assuming no idocy, we could see it as law TOMORROW!!!!!!
Posted 03/21/10 at 06:23pm
Andrew Eisen: No, I think I'll stay safe and warm in my own little world where Provolone is king and that... other cheese... doesn't exist.
Andrew Eisen: No, I think I'll stay safe and warm in my own little world where Provolone is king and that... other cheese... doesn't exist.
Posted 03/21/10 at 06:22pm
JDKJ: I wish the Speaker would ask me for what purpose does the member rise.
JDKJ: I wish the Speaker would ask me for what purpose does the member rise.
Posted 03/21/10 at 06:18pm
JDKJ: Provolone?! Please! Try aged Blue Stilton. Also known as Zippy Ass-Crack Cheese.
JDKJ: Provolone?! Please! Try aged Blue Stilton. Also known as Zippy Ass-Crack Cheese.
Posted 03/21/10 at 06:13pm
Andrew Eisen: Nothing beats Provolone.
Andrew Eisen: Nothing beats Provolone.
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
No way! People can't get a 50 dollar video game for free? It fucking blows my mind!
It's almost as bad as those emails that used to be sent around saying for every person you send it to, you'll get 2000 dollars. Really? People buy into that shit? You think you'll get paid for sending an email?
God, some people are too dumb to be trusted with the internet.
Really? People buy into that shit?
It's so nice to see someone with actual faith that humanity isn't as stupid as percived once in a while. After working retail and as a tech for so long, Nothing surprises me anymore.
I just don't understand it. There are no free sandwiches; that's a basic rule of life. So why do people forget it so readily?
Remember when those games were released by the Airforce for free? Plus your analogie about sandwhiches is incorect for there are free sandwhiches even if you have to ask.
Plus it is official looking. It could fool someone who isn't up to speed on things.
Actually, there are no free sandwiches...
You because you don't have to pay for it, should it mean that someone else, somewhere, won't pay. Which is not the case here anyways, since you are the one getting screwed. (Could've been phishing, for all we know.)
mmmm..... sandwich. *Gurgles*
So just cause you aren't paying for it doesn't mean someone else isn't? Duh... I mean that's obvious as hell. @Both of you. However Someone might believe this was free just filled iwth in game ads, or suspicious extra downloads from steam. The point is sometimes people do offer things for "free" to you don't get into fricken semantics over what free means. Jeesh next time a friend offers you a free can of soda or something are you gonna say? "WELL ITS NOT FREE YOU'RE PAYING FOR IT AREN'T YOU!?"
HA HA HA!!
Is was your slightly overzealous response to Lewis that threw me off, which either was meant to deter from the article, or you did not understood the concept of "free". Of which, was more interesting to respond.
Afterall, the argument was rather one-sided. So as far as this argument (in this particular article), is concerned, that sandwich was not free
and if it was....... it stunk of moldy bread and expired bologne.
Sorry for the misunderstanding...
Son, I've been all around this world, and I'll promise you this; there are no free sandwiches.
Also, AA and all the other military recruiting games come with the price of being hounded by recruiters in game in some cases, or the game being really shitty in others. Imagine if I said 'yeah, you can have a sandwich, but I made it with your tax dollars and its a shit and mayo sandwich'.
While you can argue semantics (Free games require downloading, which requires internet, which isnt free, heck the PC your running the game on wasn't free either) in the context of the topic at hand I think argueing that there are no decent, free and catch-free games out there can be a bit of a bold statement.
Military recruiters hound you in military recruitment games sure, there are much less invasive ones like Trackmania Nations which only expects you to look at advertising posters as you play.
What about N, Dwarf Fortress, Spelunky or Savage? Those are completely catch-free as far as I can tell.
Aren't you still paying for internet? There's a catch right there.
I already stated that in my first paragraph...
The internet is not really a catch, its a given, heck its a given in the topic as downloading Far Cry 2 off steam would still require internet....
What I'm trying to say is that the point of the phrase "There are No Free Sandwiches" is that things are never as free as they seem, in a attempt to teach people to always look the gift-horse in the mouth.
But that isn't true, as I pointed out there are plently of instances whereby things ARE as free as what they seem.... Which defeats the very point of the phrase in question.
Quite simple my dear friend. People are, in a general sense, GREEDY! I have seen an instance where a sign was made and in huge letters it said sugar soda and in between the words in characters smaller than what I'm typing is the word free. Tons of people thought the soda was free because they read the small free but missed the giant sugar above it. It's similar to people seeing a sign that says 2 for $4 or 1 for $2 and think they're getting a better deal if they buy two. (Don't laugh, I've seen worse)
When you combine the greed with a sense of entitlement, where they think the world owes them, they see this and only think "SCORE!" so it's easy for these to work.
It's not so much a manner of them forgeting it, more of they've never acknowledged it in the first place.
Well, they did give away the first Far Cry game free for awhile, the "cost" being that you had to look at in-game ads during loading screens but otherwise it was the full game, offered via download. The only thing about Far Cry 2 that makes it any less likely is how recently the game was released. It doesn't really surprise me that people could fall for this.
Scam artists couldn't come up with a better game than Farcry 2? Yick. The only thing worse than that being a scam is if it was legit, and you ended up with that dog turd game.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
it's not so much a scam, just a lie. It's what's called "Blind Link Advertising". It's extremel innefective, because once the clicker realizes they've been lied to, they never go back to ripway again.
For anyone who hasnt' checked, Ripway is a file storage service, similar to rapidshare, or my favorite, mediafire
I actually smell a test case with this, to see how effective it is. This is actually a known tecnique for virus writers to get it going. While the clicker thinks that they can just leave, the virus/worm/trojan is already in their system.
hmm, odd coincidence that I got a "Someone sent you a free game" email yesterday only mine was legit and involved a forum game on GOG.com