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The US-based popular live streaming platform Twitch recently banned a fake channel named ‘NewsRockstar’ because the channel impersonated the popular video game company ‘Rockstar Games’ and shared dubious links.

According to reports, this fake channel got banned for pretending to be Rockstar Games and sharing phishing links, trying to trick viewers with promises of Grand Theft Auto or GTA 6 beta access.

The fake account was also able to accumulate 20,000 viewers. This fake stream was “GTA6 OUT NOW! [BETA] – Early Access Beta Test – Twitch and Steam Exclusive”. This led to thousands of fans tuning in with the hope of getting access to the GTA 6 beta version.

StreamerBans, on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), revealed that the fake channel’s video was broadcast for over five hours before being shut down and subsequently banned.

As per Gadgets Now, “the social media account of the fake channel also revealed that it was a partnered account. The account also turned out to have been originally created in 2013.”

This allowed the channel to broadcast with a verification badge. This badge helped the scammers to make the channel look as legitimate as possible and to bring in a high amount of viewers in quick succession, the report said.

The scam tricked viewers into clicking a link and sharing their Steam account login details without realising it. If successful, this would let hackers get into their personal info, including maybe their bank details.

Meanwhile, a new report recently claimed that streaming giant Netflix is looking to add a Grand Theft Auto title to its games portfolio. There are no details on the game itself or its launch date, but a GTA release on the Netflix Games platform would likely be a mobile title.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Netflix is planning to license the lucrative GTA franchise for a future release on its Netflix Games service. No details about the deal or the type of game planned for release are available just yet.