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Multiple members of Team Joystiq received a weird email this morning, which stated that Valve, the beloved developers behind PC's great platform, Steam, had gifted us Far Cry 2. With an email address originating from the Steam URL, you could imagine how (almost) convinced we were. Turns out it was all a hoax.

The activation link in the very convincing email (seriously, it looks legit!) goes to a third-party site. We can only imagine the malice awaiting us on the other side of that link, so if you were also the recipient of this email, know that IT'S A TRAP!

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourself: the iPhone cannot play Xbox 360 games. We know, we were surprised too. Wait, no we weren't. That's why the latest YouTube video making the rounds is so hilariously stupid. YouTube vagabond onlywhenpissed claims a crack he created allows gamers to play Halo 3 on a jail-broken iPhone 3G with the aide of 1337pwn's Friends List application. All it'll take for you to learn this secret is a few measly MS Points.

The scammer attempts to showcase his wizardry by playing the game on his iPhone in the video found after the jump. However, even those who require the assistance of a seeing eye dog can tell it's just a video of Halo 3 footage. The truth is the iPhone just doesn't have the horsepower to run any Xbox 360 software. So, you'd have about as much luck getting this trick to work by placing a Halo 3 disc on your pinkie while spinning it and making aircraft noises. Don't be a sucker. Hold onto your points.

For some reason, some people are quick to fall into deals that are simply too good to be true. PS3 owners were recently hit by a weak "Home Beta Injector" scam, which attempted to steal PSN information from hapless victims. Another scheme has been investigated by the LA Times: a ring of sites that are offering PS3s for cheap. How cheap? How's $35?

Of course that's too good to be true, you must be thinking. However, the site's managed to snag the credit cards of a few victims already. "I was tricked," the ironically named hatesbeingrippedoff wrote on a forum on 419Legal.org. "This is a total fraud and I hope we can get a class action lawsuit." "Although it's just $35, that doesn't mean he's not going to use all the credit card information he's acquired so far for his dirty little self," wrote a user posting under the name NessaLee.

The scam promises a refurbished PS3 system for only $35, a savings of over $300. How does such a shady site pull off such a great deal? "We get paid through our network of sponsors for every survey you fill out. This gives us the purchasing power necessary to pass these large discounts on to you." Yeah, sure thing.

[Via PlayStation Forums]

We want to nip this one before it becomes a widespread problem. A program calling itself the "Home Beta Injector" will supposedly generate a redemption code for the Home beta by simply inputting a valid PSN e-mail address and password.

Sound too good to be true? Of course it is. The PlayStation team will NEVER ask for your password. Your password isn't used to generate codes for use on the PLAYSTATION Store. Instead, giving up your password means you're granting a stranger total access to your account, personal information and credit card. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM.

If you've already given away your information, we recommend you contact PlayStation support. SCEA Legal is already trying to make sure this scam doesn't spread any further.

Take this following story as a lesson on why you should be an educated shopper and do research before you head into a store. A 41 year old Singaporean woman went shopping for a new PSP at a Lucky Plaza shop. She met a courteous and helpful assistant who directed her to a Black PSP system. There are so many capabilities of the PSP, but he explained that with a "software upgrade," it can do much more, such as surf the Internet and play games for free. Fifteen minutes later, the clerk came back with a massive bill: $3500.

"Nicole," the unfortunate victim in this scam, refused to buy a system that cost as much as a laptop. However, the clerk said that they had already paid for the "costly" licenses. She asked why other shops only charged a few hundred dollars for the system ($300 according to the original article) and the clerk claimed the licenses "were not original."

After some haggling, she was able to get the cost down to $2600. Later, her brother informed her that she had essentially been robbed. She went back to the store and demanded a refund -- but she agreed to pay $1000. When complaining to the Consumers Association of Singapore, she was denied any further help because she had already agreed to pay the store.

While every major company in the world attempts to bang into your head that they will never ask for your account information sometimes people don't listen.

Unfortunately a scam, which appears to have been around for some time, promises free Microsoft points when you log into your .net Passport account. This site, and any site that promises the same, is 100% fake and will only lead to a headache like the reader who sent this in who had 5000 MS points purchased with his credit card.

We know this isn't the first, nor will it be the last, site to attempt to scam you but we hope to echo what you all should already know.

We won't link the site itself, for fear of spreading the scam, but we would like to remind you of a few key things.

1. Microsoft will only give points away during official contests that ALWAYS link directly back to a Microsoft site and those contests are always widely reported on X3F, Joystiq and other gaming sites
   
2. Never, no matter what you're promised, log into your account unless on officially sanctioned Xbox sites (Xbox.com, Bungie.net, ForzaMotorsport.net, etc.)
3. Never give away your user name and password to anyone and remember Microsoft will never ask for this information
4. Never give away your account details, including credit card information and mailing address

Do not get caught in a scam, who knows how deep the rabbit hole goes if you do.

Check out our visual guide to spotting fake Microsoft sites used in similar scams. This guide isn't foolproof however, so just steer clear from anything that promises anything!

"Do you still own a Dreamcast?" asks dreamcast.com. By all appearances, the supposed official site of Sega's cherished console has received a legitimate update, exciting loyalists that have been anticipating the system's 10-year anniversary later this year. By clicking on the question, visitors are prompted to accept a user agreement for an @user.dreamcast.com email account (apparently tied to Gmail). Applicants must supply a console serial number, email address, and password before being granted a [serial number]@dreamcast.com Gmail address.

The thing is ... Sega no longer owns dreamcast.com. Oh dear. While we have yet to obtain an English language statement from Sega, Japanese news site Mainichi has confirmed that dreamcast.com is no longer owned by Sega and is using the official Dreamcast and company logos illegally. Additionally, the current dreamcast.com domain registration information is also fraudulent. Engadget Japanese reached out to Sega for further clarification, and a representative stated that Sega is considering "appropriate measures." As we wait for further information, please (please!) do not submit any personal information to dreamcast.com. You've been warned.

Read - Mainichi.jp [Japanese]

The Consumerist has a very interesting story about a complete ripoff scam store promotion from Kelly's. Apparently, they lease out Wii consoles, allowing you to pay off the thing in monthly payments of only $79.99. This means that after 12 months, when everything is said and done and you now own your Wii console, you'll have paid a whopping $948.

Of course, if something were to happen a couple months in and you couldn't make your payment, they'll take back the console and you'll be out a boatload of cash. That must be the convenience of lease-to-own ...

Stealing your bank account or credit card information is one thing, but now e-mail phishers are going after something truly important: Your Xbox Live account. Xbox.com forum-goer Whagi reports on an e-mail he received, purportedly from Xbox Support, announcing new features on his Xbox Live account. The e-mail links to a supposed Microsoft passport login page that's actually a phishing site designed to capture your login information.

The problem goes deeper than your Xbox -- if you use your Passport account for other Microsoft services, the phishers could have access to a lot of sensitive information. The same e-mail has reportedly been received by other users in the U.S. and U.K.

It probably goes without saying, but if you get a similar e-mail, delete it immediately. If you accidentally use the link, change your password immediately. And don't trust random e-mails to notify you about new Xbox Live updates -- that's what we're here for, after all.

[Update: Microsoft has acknowledged the scam and reportedly taken action.]

As game journalists, we here at Joystiq get a lot of press releases. As Americans over the age of 18, we get a lot of credit card offers disguised as once-in-a-lifetime deals. Rarely do we get both at the same time.

Enter PeachDirect, a direct marketer that today issued a press release pimping out the PS3 for the relatively affordable price of $20 per month. "This is the machine that everyone wants, and for such a low monthly price, it has never been so affordable," says PeachDirect Executive VP Gary Bale.

So affordable? Not really. First of all, PeachDirect inflates the price of the 60 GB model to $649, and that's before the $49 shipping charge. So, already, you're $99 in the hole compared to going to your local game shop. A small price to pay for such a flexible payment structure, right? Not really. That generous $20/month plan comes with 22.98 percent APR strings attached, meaning it would take 55 months and over $466 in interest to pay off that PS3 at the minimum monthly rate.

We don't mean to pick on the PS3 here -- PeachDirect also offers the Xbox 360 and PSP at similarly "affordable" rates. The point is, no game system is worth going into debt over. Best to save up that $20 a month and endure the wait with a clean conscience and credit rating.

Is it a crime to bilk people out of money in a ponzi scheme? Sure. Is it also a crime to bilk people out of 700 billion ISK of virtual cash using a similar scheme in massively multiplayer game EVE Online? That's the question discussed in a recent article on Gamers With Jobs.

The scheme, which uses money from new investors to pay off initial backers before cutting and running, is pretty apparently against EVE's terms of service, which prohibits "obtaining goods from other players through misinformation, confusion, pressure or by taking advantage of basic trust." But the author at GWJ argues that the virtual money can be converted to real game-time cards with a value of $81,667, making the crime a very real one. What's more, the ill-gotten gains could be converted into cash through unofficial channels, and might well be taxable by the IRS.

It may be hard to think that in-game money can be subject to real-world laws, but when people can make their living trading in virtual goods, the wall between real and virtual laws begins to break down. Should financial doings inside MMOs be regulated by the government, or should the feds stay out of the virtual realm?

Moms really do know best. They also get results. Here's a satisfying tale from a guy who bought a used 360 on Ebay for $315 and got burned. He does a little detective work and tracks the non-shipping seller down to some town in Ohio, then calls him up only to get the phone slammed in his face. So who does he call next? The cops? Nah, he dials the dude's Mom and rats him out. Minutes later he has a refund, an apology and the pleasure of posting the most humiliating Ebay feedback ever. As reader Jamaicanbwoydre notes: Vigilante justice rules -- especially when Mom is playing the Charles Bronson role.