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Videogame websites like this are leading kids to commit cyber crime, says research

Watch Dogs 2

Videogames are bad, okay? Let’s just get that out of the way now. The news is controlled by old people, and the old people don’t like things they don’t understand, because things they don’t understand are scary. Videogame websites are also bad, please stop reading before we turn you bad also. 

Here’s an advertisement for our article on the best sex games. We are the worst, seriously.

“Gaming websites could be spawning a new breed of cybercriminals,” opens a newCNBC report. Research shows that children are being indoctrinated by evil videogame sites.

These free and easily-accessible internet pages are turning our children towards a life of crime. Where is CNBC getting this information? Research conducted by the UK’s National Crime Agency, of course.

According to the NCA, websites and forums that provide videogame cheat codes and mods make it easier for kids to develop criminal skills. It seems like they’re taking particular issue with modding forums, which can lead to kids picking up hacking skills, apparently. [Insert Hackerman meme here].

Apparently, “completing a challenge” and “proving oneself to peers” are key motivators, based on the in-depth research spawned as a result of… conversations conducted by the NCA with young offenders. Oh.

“There is great value in reaching young people before they ever become involved in cybercrime, when their skills can still be a force for good,” says the NCA’s Prevent team. “The aim of this assessment has been to understand the pathways offenders take, and identify the most effective intervention points to divert them towards a more positive path.

“That can be as simple as highlighting opportunities in coding and programming, or jobs in the gaming and cyber industries, which still give them the sense of accomplishment and respect they are seeking.”

Never mod. Not even once.

Cheers, PCGamer.