Most people who play FIFA Ultimate Team have heard of coin generators.
After all, just a quick Google search reveals hundreds of sites claiming to have found a way to create ‘free’ coins.
Sadly, coin generators are in no way linked to FIFA Ultimate Team – and using one can cost you dearly.
The reality is that they’re little more than scams that, at best, look to mine peoples’ information and, at worst, steal your hard-earned FIFA currency.
So, how does it happen?
New FIFA players often head to forums in search of tips and tricks to improve their Ultimate Team performance.
It’s in these communities where the scammers set up camp.
Their aim is to lure people from the forum on to a website that houses a bogus generator.
To get peoples’ attention, they will often state a ‘glitch’ has occurred, offering a time-sensitive window to capitalise on free coins.
Others will post a link to survey, which when completed, promises to reward them via FIFA currency.
However way they go about it, they all have something in common…they’ll ask players to divulge personal account details. It’s here where the damage happens.
Some reports have emerged of players losing all of their coins – while others have had their top players swiped and replaced with non-rare bronze ones.
Now for the good news.
EA has strict guidelines when it comes to FUT Coins – and is actively against players attaining coins from third parties.
Their website states: “Buying Coins damages the experience for you and other players.
“It affects the player economy when the prices of items on the Transfer Market increase and become unaffordable.
“When you buy Coins, you encourage Coin sellers to cheat in matches to generate Coins illegitimately.”
Those who are caught breaking the rules face outright bans from all FIFA games.
A couple of years ago, a hacker who created a FIFA “coin generator” was convicted of defrauding EA out of millions of dollars.
Anthony Clark, 24 from California, was involved in a wire fraud scheme involving more than $16m worth of FIFA coins.
Clark and three others were accused by the FBI of creating software that logged thousands of bogus matches – tricking servers into rewarding them coins.
These were then sold on the black market to dealers in Europe and China.
Last year, hacker Ricky Miller, 23, was fined $1,5m after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud against EA.
It involved a plot to steal in-game currency worth $16m from FIFA that was subsequently sold for cash on a secondary gamer market.
Best play it safe and avoid those coin generators.