'GTA V for PC' torrent scam hits gamers as Online 'stimulus package' rolls out

GTA V: a torrent apparently containing the eagerly awaited PC version in fact contained malware

Life in Los Santos is never predictable – on the streets of Grand Theft Auto V's crime-ridden cityscape, there is always some underworld villain looking to bring you down. This week, however, the criminal activity seeped out of the virtual world into the real one. On Monday, PC news site WCCFTech reported that thousands of eager gamers had been taken in by a fake file distributed on torrent sites, which appeared to be a leaked PC version of GTA V, but was actually a great big bundle of malware.

Site metrics and Seed Ratio reveal that this particular torrent has been downloaded well into the thousands. The setup file is a realistic 18GB and has an actual setup.exe file, one that works. Basically a malicious replica of the original setup file, this one doesnt give out any hint of malicious activity.

As CNET later reported:

The file looks legit, appearing near the top of Google search results, and nearly 7,000 users connected; however, appearing as a setup.exe file, the first clue that something could be awry is the file size 18.3GB, compared to 7.7GB for the Xbox 360 version.

Of course, what should have alerted eager GTA fans was the fact that Rockstar is yet to even announce a PC version of the hit console title.Rumours suggest that a conversion could arrive in spring 2014, and there is clearly demand – an online survey requesting a PC version now has more than 600,000 signatures. If life in GTA has taught us anything it's that, where there is demand, there is criminal exploitation.

Meanwhile, GTA Online is still undergoing tweaks as Rockstar continues to balance the twitchy economy. Late last week a new patch updated various issues with the troubled multiplayer mode, but also halved the amount gamers could make from repeat missions. According to GameSpot, the publisher explained he decision thus: "We understand players do like to enjoy a mission multiple times, so rather than remove the possibility of doing so, we've allowed replays of these missions at a reduced payout. Many players can get very good at a mission and beat it much faster in consecutive tries, so we've adjusted these payouts to match that case."

The problem Rockstar has is the need to gently lead gamers away from turning the mode into a grind-fest, without making it look like a way to nudge them toward micro transactions. But responses have been… mixed. Beneath the announcement on the GTA support site LocoWithGun writes: "To be honest missions are rather worthless now. Maybe I'll do the occasional Base Invaders that comes my way but that's about it. There was already a huge trouble getting anyone to join your mission ... newbies are never going to get anyone to play with them now."

On the plus side, it seems the promised "stimulus package" will arrive this week, giving GTA Online veterans a major free cash boost to the tune of $500,000. Rockstar is also preparing to launch new features, whichaccording to its Newswire site includes a DLC package named Beach Bum pack (lots of new beach ware for characters, plus four new beach vehicles) and a content creator that allows players more breadth to design and run their own personalised death match and race events. More exciting, though, will be the launch of more in-depth Heist missions, requiring tactical co-op play. Players getting tired of pummelling through street jobs and grinding high-paying errands from Gerald will be pleased to try out something a little more complex.

But PC owners will have to wait, or risk an unwanted mission to rid their hard drive of malware