The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday proposed a new measure that could protect your Robux from scammers and hackers.
The proposed rule would interpret terms from the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), which has traditionally been used to protect consumers from unauthorized debit transactions, and also include some virtual currencies provided by gaming and cryptocurrency companies.
“Gamers – or in some cases their parents and guardians – have reported issues such as difficulty converting dollars to in-game currency, unauthorized transactions, account hacks and takeovers, theft, scams and asset loss,” reads the post from the CFPB. the proposal. “They also described receiving limited to no assistance from gaming companies and the banks or digital wallets involved. Refunds are often denied, people find their gaming accounts suspended by the video game company after a player tries to get a refund from their financial institution, or people find themselves in a doom loop with AI-powered customer service agents while they're just trying to get straight answers to get.”
Friday's proposal is intended to solve these problems. The EVA protects consumers who transfer money electronically, limits their liability for errors and provides them with ways to correct illegal transactions. Once the consumer is notified, covered financial institutions are required to investigate unauthorized transactions and promptly correct errors. In the proposed interpretation, the CFPB says consumers have the same rights when using certain virtual currencies.
Still, the EVA will likely only apply to games where players can exchange currencies among themselves using accounts that resemble “consumer asset accounts.” For example, popular children's gaming platform Roblox allows creators to earn Robux by selling cosmetic items or building their own in-game worlds and experiences. Through Roblox's DevEx program, Robux can be converted into US dollars.
Not all games with in-game currency are necessarily subject to the rule. For example, Fortnite players can spend cash for V-Bucks to purchase cosmetic items and “battle passes,” but the currency cannot be exchanged between players and other merchants.
Last year, the CFPB put gaming companies on notice by issuing a report detailing the risks associated with purchasing and transferring virtual currencies. In it, the agency argued that virtual banks and currencies on gaming and crypto platforms are becoming increasingly similar to traditional banking infrastructure, with little protection for users if the money is lost or stolen.
“Americans of all ages are converting billions of dollars into currencies used on virtual reality and gaming platforms,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement last year about these transactions. “As more banking and payment activities take place in video games and virtual worlds, the CFPB is exploring ways to protect consumers from fraud and scams.”
The video game industry has remained largely unregulated, despite facing multiple lawsuits and government investigations in recent years. Just last month, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, requiring the company to return more than $245 million in refunds to users who were allegedly tricked into buying the game's virtual currency.
The CFPB's proposal is unlikely to go into effect anytime soon. In a press release issued Friday, the agency said it would seek feedback, especially from gamers, on the protections they need. The deadline for feedback is March 31, 2025.
