As with many websites that offer to sell game keys and codes at below retail prices, the incredibly cheap deals offered on Instant Gaming can seem too good to be true. However, even the most notable game resellers haven’t been free of their fair share of controversies and scams related to gray-market game sales. For example, deals that offer keys on a platform of this type have the potential to be fraudulent and revocable by the publisher, misuse customer information, or offer minimal refunds to buyers should they want to back out on a deal — all of which seem to be issues that are consistent with Instant Gaming’s business.
Is Instant Gaming safe?
To verify purchases made on their site, Instant Gaming requires that customers present a form of photographic identification — be it a passport, ID card, or driver’s license — before payment is accepted and the deal is made. Included in the instructions to submitting an ID is a disclaimer stating that clients worried about revealing their personal information to online third parties should manually “blur part of the picture, as long as your name, surname and photo are still visible.”
These statements from Instant Gaming seem to treat the act of doxing with all the safety and concern of an E3 rumor leak. The website claims that measures like these are used to deter scammers from using stolen credit card information to buy games, in an environment where all sales are final and refunding a fraudulent purchase is nearly impossible. Compare these practices to those of reputable online retailers such as Steam or Good Old Games, where customers aren’t expected to dox themselves in order to buy a video game.
Related: The Best Cheap Deals Under $10 from the Steam Summer Sale
While this odd policy may be enough to raise a few red flags, another area of concern is the surprisingly limited number of payment methods allowed when purchasing a game from Instant Gaming. While direct credit card payments and Paysafecard vouchers are accepted in their transactions, commonly accepted online transfer services such as PayPal are not. As game code resellers are no strangers to credit fraud, relying so heavily on unencrypted credit card deals to do business is shady at best.
Between security and privacy concerns, Gamepur cannot recommend doing business with Instant Gaming in its current state of operations. If cheap games are a priority, we recommend to find worthwhile discounts and valuable deals in Steam’s seasonal sales.
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Tom Griffin
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