Grand Theft Auto Online is apparently suffering from a nasty exploit that’s allowing exploiters to muck up fellow players’ accounts and gameplay.
The issue was first reported by player Tez2, who reported that he’d learned the exploit “[allows] cheaters to removely add/remove/modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete.” Other players are reporting that hackers are infusing accounts with cash and levels in an attempt to get them banned by support. Still others claim the exploit is wider than just GTAO and affects other online titles in the company’s stable, including Red Dead Online.
Rockstar is reportedly investigating but has yet to release a statement as we type this, in spite of the support forums being flooded with reports; best practices according to the massive Reddit thread on the topic is to simply log the heck off and stay logged off. Players can check up on their accounts without logging into the game using the Rockstar Social Club.
But some players didn’t get the memo and are already reporting their accounts have been scrambled beyond recognition, in which case they’ll be back to dealing with support… whenever it surfaces from the weekend.
Rockstar is aware and have been logging any affected account before the first mod menu started abusing the new exploits.#GTAOnline https://t.co/eDtVrOGXQn
— Tez2 (@TezFunz2) January 21, 2023
Temporary fix for account corruption on PC
– Delete "Rockstar Games" folder from Documents
– Reload the game to refresh profile data#GTAOnline— Tez2 (@TezFunz2) January 21, 2023
It takes one little mistake. This footage is from earlier this week. Today, it could be the end of your account. Stay safe everyone! pic.twitter.com/Y0PX50vXd0
— Bulki. (@Bulkiboy) January 21, 2023