A Reddit user said a stranger invited them to test a custom Minecraft modpack over Discord, but a quick safety check allegedly found malware hidden in the files.
The poster told the r/scams subreddit that one of the .jar files appeared to be an info-stealer designed to hijack Telegram session data, raising concerns about how easily trust in online gaming communities can be exploited.
Here's what to know
The poster's account started with an unsolicited gaming invite, as they described in the thread. Someone they did not know asked them to join a Discord call and try out a custom Minecraft modpack, but instead of opening the files right away, they said they first examined them in a sandbox and inspected the code with a decompiler.
That extra step identified "one of the .jar files" as "an active info-stealer designed to hijack Telegram session files (tdata)."
According to the post, they assembled "hashes, logs, and video" as evidence of what they found, but said platform support still did not meaningfully review the report or ban the person they accused.
More background
Minecraft mods are a routine part of gameplay for many users. Modpacks, custom servers, and shared files are common, which means a malicious file disguised as something ordinary and harmless could easily be picked up by multiple users.
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It does not just exploit technical weaknesses. Rather, it exploits trust in communities where people are used to collaborating, testing projects, and joining calls with strangers who seem to share the same interests.
Commenters on the thread said gaming spaces associated with younger audiences can be especially attractive to scammers.
"Any children's games are all scam targets because children do not know better," the poster wrote. "Minecraft, Roblox, Mr Beast, that sort of thing."
Another commenter pushed back on the idea that only children are vulnerable.
"Neither Roblox or Minecraft are just for kids," they countered. "Both were designed to be all ages, although Roblox seems to be played mostly by kids. And there are plenty of adults who don't know better."
What's being done?
The original poster warned that the issue may extend well beyond one suspicious message.
"This isn't an isolated case or a one-off scammer either — there are multiple people running this exact same campaign right now, and reporting them yields no results," they wrote.
While they were justifiably frustrated about a lack of response, one poster suggested some protective steps against the scam. They offered two setting changes for before and after the scam in their reply.
Lastly, they suggested reporting the accounts to Telegram rather than Minecraft.
"That's the team whose asset is being stolen — different queue, different incentive to look," they explained. "No promises, but the game platform has very little reason to act on a stealer that doesn't touch their accounts."
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