The 12 Days of Simsmas: 2024 Edition
Sul Sul! It's time to kick off the 12 Days of Simsmas, and once again we're giving you a chance to win your choice of Kit, Stuff Pack, Game Pack, or Expansion Pack for The Sims™ 4! For this giveaway, players on PC, Mac, Xbox and PlayStation will have until the 12 Days of Simsmas ends (December 31, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT) to comment on this post with what you love most about The Sims 4; make sure you also include the hashtag #TheSimsGiveaway to be considered! 2 winners will be contacted via EA Forums Private Message, so make sure you have them enabled! Full contest rules including how to enter, how winners will be selected, and eligible countries can be found in the spoiler tag below 👇
The Weekly Grind - Nov 4, 2025
Welcome back to The Weekly Grind. Let’s get to it! What’s going on? It’s the final week of Skate-o-Ween and we’re 2 weeks away from the 7-Ply Maple Harvest Event. (We’ve got a mini-blog coming up before the event to give you the deets on what’s happening in San Van for the event, so hang loose.) We’ve also got “the best free gift in the Citadel” coming this Friday. With Daylight Saving Time ending for San Vansterdam on Nov 3, you may have noticed the daily resets happening an hour earlier. Our systems like Daily Resets go off the UTC timezone (it’s called universal for a reason), so the time really didn’t change on the back-end, but for our players who just experienced “Fall Back”, those resets are an hour earlier (9AM PT/ 1700 UTC). Nov 4, 2025 we pushed out a hotfix to address crashing issues on console where the resume feature would cause the game to crash. What we’ve heard Season 1 and our first Seasonal event received a lot of feedback that the team has taken on, from accrual rates of seasonal and event currency to items that can be obtained by spending that currency. The team is working to improve the tuning of the seasonal and event currency, as well as improve the offerings in the seasonal and event rewards. Additionally, we’ve heard feedback regarding the community parks updates for events. We’ve heard your feedback on Season 1 and the first seasonal event, and some changes we’re bringing to Season 2 are: As noted in our Season 1 blog, the first Season in skate. was always planned to be a little shorter, but all future Seasons will have around 100 tiers in the skate.Pass. Through Skate-o-Ween, we learned that the Event economy is not properly balanced and leads to a surplus of event currency that you can't spend. We’re making changes for the 7-Ply event later this month as a result and we’ll continue to evaluate to see if we need to make further adjustments to future events. We’ve got more info coming through a Dev Blog from the team at Full Circle. REMINDER: Free Gift On Oct 31, 2025, we dropped the Lightrunner set for everyone. All you have to do is log in to get the set (before Dec 2, 2025). Softlocks/Stuck Progression- ONGOING The work continues. The team is making progress on the various softlock issues, and we know we’re not done yet. We appreciate your dedication and sticking with us in Early Access as we work through these issues. Make sure to check our official skate_status account on X to keep up-to-date with news and info as it comes out. Keep that content coming! The skate-tshirt-contest has ended, and we’re going through the submissions and will be reaching out to potential finalists, then will work with the dev team to get the winners and start getting those designs in-game. As usual, we wanted to share a few pieces of content that caught our eye. Remember: if you want to possibly be featured in The Weekly Grind, make sure to share yours (screenshots, videos, clips) via skate.reel. Waitin’ on a Furt by the Foot to recharge before hitting another session, Credit: House When Follow-the-Leader goes wrong, Credit: Patchwork Practicioner Sky high polejam, Credit: GeekwithoutFear and Germ Chess break after a session in San Van, Credit R3DD Weekly Calendar The Weekly Grind! (that’s today) Skate-o-Ween Week #3 Free Gift on Friday Coming Up: skatebounty #5 S2 Visual/World Improvements S2 Character Update Part of The Weekly Grind will be dedicated to sharing current Known Issues the team is tracking for bugs & issues, any active deployments/fixes, and next steps. (This is not an exhaustive list of all tracked issues.) Recent Fixes Fix for crashing issues on console when resuming from standby state. Fixed Nov 4, 2025. To Be Fixed in the Coming Weeks: Xbox X|S players may notice the update is much larger on their console than for PC and PS players Unable to play Skate. due to a "connection to EA Servers" error Troubleshooting: Ensure that the VPN is disabled and check that the EA App is not in offline mode. For more troubleshooting help, refer to our Connectivity FAQ. Stunt target showing up/staying on when not in a Stunt Challenge Workaround: Restart game. Known Issues Still Being Investigated: User loses SVB while redeeming Skate Pass content and receives unwanted item Next Steps: A fix for this issue is currently in the works. In the meantime, if you are running into this issue, please send us a photo of the faulty purchase in our forums and we’ll assist you.. Co-Op challenges fail to start for some party members We’re working on a solution and will keep you updated on our progress. Stuck on Isle of Grom We’ve previously pushed out a fix so that new players won’t run into this issue, and have continued to help skaters that are stuck so they can enter San Vansterdam. If you still can’t take the ferry, please report it in our mega thread. Infinite Loading Issues We’re tracking an issue with players getting stuck in loading into San Vansterdam. Workaround: Make sure the game is updated (repair install, if possible). We’ve seen reports from players that loading will complete after a few minutes. EA App: Click … on game tile, select Repair Steam: Steam Library, right click game, Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity. Invisible party members when joining friend from another server Workaround (not 100%): After the transition, any of the 2 party members would have to teleport to the other party member so they could see one another. Fix: Team is currently investigating a full fix. The replay editor often captures stuttering during export on console Fix: Will be fixed with 0.29. Various Crashing Issues The team continues to investigate and work on various crashing issues. If you’re experiencing a crashing issue, please share any details you can on this Mega Thread.The Weekly Grind - Oct 28, 2025
Welcome back to The Weekly Grind. Let’s get to it! What’s going on? One week into Skate-o-Ween, and the team is working on more fixes. Mid-season Update 0.28.5 dropped on Oct 23, 2025, and we’re hearing your feedback. What have we heard? We’ve heard your feedback regarding Seasonal and Event progression being too low without enough challenges and the rewards tied to the Seasonal and Event task completion not being that significant. We also hear you about skate.Pass and not being able to earn enough SVB for the next season and we’re looking at adjusting the amount of SVB rewarded in the skate.Pass. The team is taking all the feedback and learning from it, working on some tuning for Season 2 that we’ll be sharing in the coming weeks. Beyond Season 1, we’ve also heard you loud and clear regarding the issues impacting gameplay overall - softlock issues, progression issues, connectivity and stability issues, and how the cosmetic and rewards system works in general. It’s crucial that you know we see and hear your feedback. We’ll have more information to share soon on the next steps, but it’s crucial for us to ensure you know that you’re being heard. Free Gift If you didn’t notice, in the skate.Pass images we had an asset that included a white Haru shirt that was not actually available to unlock/earn. We fixed the asset, but wanted to do more. So on Friday, October 31, we’re granting everyone the Lightrunner set that includes the white long-sleeved Haru shirt, the striped baseball cap, and the white high-top shoes. For free, for everyone with skate.Pass Premium. You’ll just have to log in to get them. Skate-o-Ween Weekly Task Progression Fix On Monday, we pushed a fix that allows you to run any of the previously completed challenges again: "Witch's Brew", "Spider Bait", and "Heathen Flip". This update enables you to complete the challenge goals and receive all the Week 1 rewards. Additionally, we're disabling the "Basinator" Challenge due to the objective "Perform a single flip trick and 360 into the Fountain" not consistently tracking. Softlocks/Stuck Progression- ONGOING As shared last week, the team continues to push fixes for softlock issues, but more details are needed if you’re still experiencing a stuck progression issue. If you haven’t yet, make sure to share your details on the Mega Thread as we need to fix these individually for the time being. We appreciate your dedication and sticking with us in Early Access as we work through these issues. Make sure to check our official skate_status account on X to keep up-to-date with news and info as it comes out. Keep that content coming! REMINDER! On October 20th, we launched our first skate. UGC contest where you can design a shirt to be in-game. This is the last week to share your design for it to be considered to come into the game. Check the official rules for details and hit up the #skate-tshirt-contest channel in the official Discord to drop your submission. Check here for details, rules, and the legal stuff. As usual, we wanted to share a few pieces of content that caught our eye. Remember: if you want to possibly be featured in The Weekly Grind, make sure to share yours (screenshots, videos, clips) via skate.reel. Weekly Calendar skate. October 2025 UGC T-Shirt Contest week 2 (Ends Nov 3) The Weekly Grind! (that’s today) Skate-o-Ween Week 2 skatebounty #4 2x Halloween sweepstakes in Discord for skate. Year 5 Coming Up: skate. October 2025 UGC T-Shirt Contest Ends & Winners Chosen skatebounty #5 Skate-o-Ween Week #3 Part of The Weekly Grind will be dedicated to sharing current Known Issues the team is tracking for bugs & issues, any active deployments/fixes, and next steps. (This is not an exhaustive list of all tracked issues.) Recent Fixes Fixed Oct 23, 2025 with Update 0.28.5 Co-op Tasks aren’t being marked complete Body flips often fail to register during the Double Trouble Season 1 Challenge Input for one-foot ollies can be inconsistent Some PC users experiencing very long loading screens after logging in The Replay Editor (PC) often captures stuttering during export. skate.Pass UI Bug preventing highlighting of preferred items from previous pages Slam target showing up/staying on when not in a Slam Challenge Criteria for unlocking the Financial neighborhood is not showing up, causing the "Manual Extension" mission to not appear Fix: Implemented on October 6. Ongoing Fixes skate.Insider Rewards not showing up Fix: The team continues to run scripts to grant Insiders the skate.Insider Rewards. Various progression issues Fix: Fixes are ongoing, with more rolling out between 0.28 and 0.29. Skaters are getting kicked from online play Fix: Some fixes implemented October 10 and 12, more rolling out between 0.28 and 0.29. To Be Fixed in the Coming Weeks: Xbox X|S players may notice the update is much larger on their console than for PC and PS players Double Congratulations bug when opening items Fix: Fixed in 0.29 Unable to play Skate. due to a "connection to EA Servers" error. Troubleshooting: Ensure that the VPN is disabled and check that the EA App is not in offline mode. For more troubleshooting help, refer to our Connectivity FAQ. Known Issues Still Being Investigated: User loses SVB while redeeming skate.Pass content and receives unwanted item Next Steps: A fix for this issue is currently in the works. In the meantime, if you are running into this issue, please send us a photo of the faulty purchase in our forums and we’ll assist you. Co-Op challenges fail to start for some party members We’re working on a solution and will keep you updated on our progress. Stuck on Isle of Grom We’ve previously pushed out a fix so that new players won’t run into this issue, and have continued to help skaters that are stuck so they can enter San Vansterdam. If you still can’t take the ferry, please report it in our Mega Thread. Infinite Loading Issues We’re tracking an issue with players getting stuck in loading into San Vansterdam. Workaround: Make sure the game is updated (repair install, if possible). We’ve seen reports from players that loading will complete after a few minutes. EA App: Click … on game tile, select Repair Steam: Steam Library, right click game, Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity. Invisible party members when joining friend from another server Workaround (not 100%): After the transition, any of the 2 party members would have to teleport to the other party member so they could see one another. Fix: Team is currently investigating a full fix. The replay editor often captures stuttering during export on console Fix: Will be fixed with 0.29. Various Crashing Issues The team continues to investigate and work on various crashing issues. If you’re experiencing a crashing issue, please share any details you can on this Mega Thread.
The Return of Friday Highlights
Sul sul everyone! Happy Friday! Now that we're finally at home on our new and improved forums, I thought it was time to bring back our favorite weekly tradition- The Friday Highlights 🌸 If you're new to these highlights, here's a quick rundown: each week we'll be recapping all the exciting updates and highlighting the top discussions, gameplay challenges, stories, builds and more all created by you! So make sure you stop by every Friday to join in on the fun 🙂 Now let's get started, shall we? So what happened this week? Plumbob Green is now an official custom color developed by Pantone, and to celebrate, a new shell challenge is available in the official Sims Discord! You can download the lot here and share your build in Discord for a chance to win your very own Plumbob pin. For more details, check out the Discord announcement here! A second build challenge is available in Discord for Businesses and Hobbies- your goal is to transform New Harbor Park in Iverstad into a thriving and bustling business, and share the story of how you turned this vacant lot into a flourishing establishment. Check out the Discord announcement here for more info! Have you been wondering which MySim character to befriend? You can take the quiz available in Discord here to find out, and to enter for a chance to win a copy of MySims: Cozy Bundle! The quiz will be available through next week, be sure to check it out and let us know who you got! Morning fishing trip in Sulani, posted here, by lanlynk Let's see what we can fish up with this week's highlights! Spring is officially here, and with this season symbolizing rebirth, what better way to celebrate than with this Life & Death Rebirth Saga Challenge, created by nastyjman. For this challenge, you'll play through various reincarnations of your Sim while working towards specific aspirations with each rebirth- you'll begin as a deviant and evil Sim and will slowly blossom and grow into a creative and good spirit. Each reincarnation has a set of rules, like various traits and income restrictions to make this challenge a little more difficult. So if you've been looking for a fun gameplay challenge to start the season with, be sure to check this one out and let us know how far you get! With Businesses and Hobbies now in full swing, AidenNite10 is asking the question we've all been wondering- What's the best way for your Sims to earn money? While it may be a slow process, my personal favorite is knitting, cross stitching and candle making to sell in my small business. But what's your favorite way to make extra money- are you a bulk dragon fruit farmer, or a lucrative art dealer? Do you sell your goods in your small business like me, or do you prefer Plopsy? Let us know all your best money making secrets! With summer just around the corner, I've been looking for the perfect vacation home to escape the hot weather, and this elegant Mediterranean château, Villa Harmonia, built by imoger checks all the boxes- it includes 5 full size bedrooms with timeless exposed brick walls, a private art studio for painting and woodwork, and lush outdoor living space with a garden style pool and shaded pergola. If you're in need of a relaxing and scenic new home, you'll definitely want to check this one out! Season 29 of The Bachelor may have ended on Monday, but don't worry, we've still got plenty of roses to hand out with this gameplay story, The Bachelor Challenge, by QuinShay5. Our Bachelor for this story is Eric Nash, a young and creative romantic looking for his perfect soul mate. This week's episode brought us elimination #2 and things got s p i c e y as one of the girls decided to pop off on Eric, thus resulting in her removal from the house. So which of the remaining girls are you rooting for? My personal favorite is Zuri, mostly because her hair is 🔥 If you need some extra drama in your life, be sure to tune into this hilarious story, and let us know who you think will win the final rose! And finally, for our very talented Sims 3 builders soocoolsim has created a New Orleans inspired world collaboration, Bayou Bijou. This week, a big milestone was hit as Map C of this world has been completed! A total of 54 lots for this world have already been created, but don't worry, plenty more lots are available to claim if you want to participate! The next lot claiming period will begin Monday, April 1st, so be sure to head over, claim your lots and show off all your best building skills. And that will wrap us up for this week! I hope you all stay safe, have a wonderful weekend, and happy Simming 💚 Till next time! -EA_Solaire
Friday Highlights - April 4th
Sul sul simmers! The sun is bright, spring has arrived and Friday Highlights are back, what more can we ask? 🌞 Based from the very warm reactions to EA_Solaire's return of Friday Highlights last week, I can tell I'm not the only one who missed those! We hope everyone is accustomed to our shiny new forums by now and we can't wait to see everything you will share with us. ✨ A quick recap of this week's news: ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Have you seen the Pride Every Day Collection that dropped on April 2nd? Check the fabulous outfits and items and more information! We can't wait to see how you will incorporate these in your games! ⚙️ This week, there was another patch for The Sims Legacy Edition. Make sure you check out all the details here ! 🌲 There is one more week left to the Plumbob Green Challenge on Discord, make sure to participate if you'd like a chance to win a Plumbob pin! ❓ Finally, we have a poll of the utmost importance on Discord: Who is your favorite mascot? Don't forget to cast your vote and let us know here who is your preferred mascot (which should be Yamachan, obviously)! Let's celebrate Spring by visiting the community garden greenhouse! posted here, by ManicPot8to Now, let's move on to the highlights... Let's kick off those highlights with the mention of everybody's favourite angry old lady, Miss Crumplebottom 👵👜. It looks like drkangl7690 has been very patient so far, but everyone eventually hits their limits: she got turned into a vampire after another instance of public rude behaviour! 🧛♀️ And since she still wouldn't behave, she even got frozen by a freeze ray so she could be taught a lesson (and we got a really funny screenshot out of that, which I encourage you to see!). Has Miss Crumplebottom interacted with your sims before? Have you integrated her into your games? Apparently she can become sweet and teach your sims knitting, but she has never grown out of the grumpy phase in my games! 😅 If you are in a reading mood, texansky added a new chapter to the Fields of Gold story. Jade Fields has come a long way, from Bidgeport to an old lodge in Alryne Valley. Her hard work has paid off and she is settling well into the house that is slowly getting lest rusty and renovated. She has found a friend in Elijah the local cat and she has also found love with Shaun, and things are looking very well! 💍 If you want a nice cosy, slice of life story with a Spring vibe, then this story is made for you! We have the perfect place for your sims to enjoy the nice Spring weather with Cevans1962's Jackdaws house, located in San Sequoia. It's very luminous, it includes a spacious kitchen and living room, three bedrooms, a study and a gym. There is a cute patio for your family barbecues, a playground for children, and an adorable front garden that is beautifuly decorated 🌷 Everyone in the household will find what they need, so you should definitely take a look! If you are up for a challenge this week, have a look at what AidenNite10 is proposing: The Sims 4 Restaurant Build Challenge. 🍽️ The rules are simple and allow you to bring out your creativity as long as you don't use any mods or custom content. You don't even need any specific pack such as Dine Out, so I'm curious to see everyone's builds because I'm sure they are all going to look different from each other yet amazing! Finally, vickyloo shares some insight about the game: did you know that when your sim gets hurt, they will end up with a bandage that stays on until the injury is healed? 🤕That's a neat little detail that adds more realism! It's so subtle that you would barely notice it, but it's so rewarding when you do - especially when you've been playing for years! What are other things that you never knew and discovered after a long time? It's a known fact by now but I discovered pretty late and randomly that cats can sit on the roombas and have a little wander in the house. 😻 This is it for the week folks! I hope you and your sims have a nice weekend, and we'll see you very soon! Dag dag 👋 EA_Cath ✌️
EA Forums Online Security Newsletter - Volume 5
Welcome to all our readers - whether you're a long-time subscriber or joining us for the first time—for the latest edition of our newsletter! This month, we invite you to engage in a conversation about security, our featured topic, and much more. Each edition is an opportunity to share your security tips, experiences, or insights with us. In last month’s edition, we explored the critical topic of safe online transactions. With the summer promotions season fast approaching, now is the perfect time to refresh your knowledge or check out our tips if you haven’t already. We also introduced the latest updates to EA’s flagship anti-cheat system, EA Javelin. If you’re unfamiliar with EA Javelin, we encourage you to revisit last month’s newsletter to learn more. This month, we’re exploring the fascinating topic of passwords from a psychological perspective. Why do we choose certain passwords over others? What motivates our choices? And what strategies can help you create strong, secure passwords? You’ll find answers to these questions and more in the Security Focus section. As always, your participation in the newsletter—whether through comments, quizzes, or sharing your experiences—earns you a participation token: a unique badge on the forum. Don’t miss out! We would also like to highlight recent software blocks in EA Javelin. AntiCheatWard from EA's anti-cheat team shared that the Disc-Soft block was implemented due to cheat-like scripts circulating in the ReWASD community, which automate actions like recoil control and skill-based challenges in games. While EA Javelin Anticheat supports legitimate remapping tools like Steam Input and Microsoft's Keyboard Manager, Disc-Soft's attempts to bypass anti-cheat checks and its tolerance of these scripts led to blocking their virtual hardware and drivers. We encourage you to uninstall the software and provide feedback to the vendor, with hopes that changes in their practices could allow for more targeted blocks in the future. You'll find the link to the full article in the InfoHub Section. Stay safe! The Psychology of Password Creation In today's digital age, passwords are crucial for safeguarding our personal and professional information. Yet many people struggle with creating and remembering secure passwords. This challenge is deeply rooted in human psychology and impacts how we choose and manage our passwords. Cognitive Load and Memory It is human nature to simplify complex tasks, which leads to choosing passwords that are easy to remember. As a result, simple choices can be made, such as using sequential numbers, common words, or birthdays. These elements reduce cognitive load, but at the same time, they compromise security. Familiarity Bias People tend to choose passwords that are familiar or meaningful to them. It can be the names of loved ones, favourite sports teams, or phrases that are familiar to you. While these choices make passwords easier to remember, they also make them easier to guess. Risk Perception Many users underestimate the risk of cyber threats, believing that they are unlikely targets. This perception leads to less rigorous password practices, such as using the same password across multiple accounts or opting for simple, easily cracked passwords. The Role of Emotion Emotional attachment can play a significant role in password creation. People often choose passwords that evoke positive feelings or memories, which makes them easier to recall. However, emotional passwords can be predictable for anyone familiar with the user. Social Influence Social factors, such as advice from friends or media, can impact password choices. Recommendations to use complex passwords might be acknowledged but not always implemented due to the inconvenience of remembering them. Strategies for Improvement Use Passphrases Combining unrelated words into a passphrase increases complexity while remaining memorable. Leverage Mnemonics Creating a mnemonic device can help recall complex passwords. Employ Password Managers These tools reduce the burden of remembering multiple passwords while ensuring they are strong and unique. Periodic Password Updates Changing passwords can mitigate risks associated with compromised credentials. But don't make it a burden, as accourding to NIST research over complicating the password changing process might have opposite effect. Online Security Newsletter - Feedback Form Online Security Newsletter - Challenge Creation Interest Form EA Javelin Anticheat & Recent Software Blocks Online Security Newsletter - Volume 5 QuizFriday Highlights - April 18th
Sul sul friends! I hope the start of spring is treating you well! Do you have any plans for Easter weekend? 🐣 Are you sims ready to welcome the Flower Bunny? 🐰 If you celebrate Easter, what do you usually eat or cook? Let us know below! First, here’s what you may have missed this week: 📑 There was a new patch for MySims™: Cozy Bundle on Monday, make sure to check that your game is up to date! Bear and Barry enjoying some of that nice fresh air, posted here by Tomsde And with this quick update, let’s dive into the highlights! Your sims and their family might want to enjoy the brighter and longer days, and ManicPot8to just got the perfect build for that in Meadow Loop Play Park This build is ideal for everyone: children will love playing with the treehouse, swings and other amenities built for them, couples will enjoy the relaxing environment, pet owners can bring their furry friends for a nice stroll , and there is a community garden for our fellow botanists. 🌾 The park looks so pretty at daytime and night time, so make sure to have a look! If you’d like to add a bit of magic to your daily life, jazzyrocksoul88 has the perfect story for you as they are taking on the "Llamas and Legends" challenge originally created by Rishella, on the basis of a very popular game involving rolling dices to make decisions 🐉. Olorra Ilianath, a mysterious character, suddenly appears on the former estate of the controversial Jacques Villareal. Olorra is a very stylish human bard with a passion for arts, and she is already doing pretty good for herself as she’s had times to practice her craft and make some friends 🎨. So if you’d like to see how jazzyrocksoul88 and Olorra are going to tackle this challenge, keep an eye out! EA_Solaire mentioned the awesome Bayou Bijou World Collaboration in The Sims 3, and this is still going on! There are many new additions to the world and all the builds are very creative. But today, let’s focus on @HidehiHidehi2’s Club Fais Do-Do which looks like the perfect holiday resort for your sims: with bars, dance floors, hot tubs on the roof top, and live music, your sims won’t have time to get bored 💃🎶. It looks stunning and even more impressive at night time with all the lights illuminating the building! 🌃(Your fun language fact of the day: Fais Do-Do in Cajun language refers to a Cajun Dance Party. But in French, it has a completely different meaning: Fais Do-Do means: Go to sleep!) If you need some inspiration to play with the Business & Hobbies pack, BreeMiles may have had the greatest idea of all time with the Pet Hangout Business 🐶🐱. It is not only great for the pets and stray animals roaming around, but also for pet owners who can now enjoy the hangout club in the latest addition! They can share their love of animals and receive help with caring for their friends or getting them cleaned up. I strongly encourage you to check out the thread from the beginning just for a bit of cuteness overload 💖Would that be something you would like to reproduce in your game? Finally, let’s talk gameplay: are there any game mechanics you would like more insight on? If so, then Intern_Waffle_64 has the perfect curated guide for you, and is willing to add more topics! 🤓 So go and let us know what gameplay logistics are giving you trouble! Help your sims getting out of burnout, prevent potential electrocutions and become a weather expert, among other topics. Each article is very easy to understand but they still contain a lot of information and details. They definitely go into my bookmarks “How to play Sims 4 for Dummies”! 📑 And that's it for this week! As always, have a lovely weekend and make sure not to eat too many sweets 🍫 (saying this, as I'm devouring a giant chocolate egg 🤭). Dag Dag! EA_Cath ✌️EA Forums Online Security Newsletter - Volume 6
Before we begin this issue’s regular sections, we want to thank everyone who participated in the discussion in the previous edition. Your shared experiences and kind words of appreciation mean a lot to us. 🥰 In this issue, we’ll again examine phishing methods from a psychological perspective, exploring why they are so effective and how we can better protect ourselves. Phishing isn't just about dodgy links; it's about exploiting fundamental human tendencies. Scammers are master manipulators, playing on our emotions, our desire for efficiency, and even our inherent trust. When you understand the psychological levers they pull, you gain a powerful advantage in spotting and avoiding their traps. 🤓 If you missed the previous edition, you can find it [here]. As always, joining the discussion or solving the quiz will earn you a token of participation in the form of a unique badge on the forum. 🤠 Stay safe! The Psychology of Phishing The Lure of Urgency and Scarcity, aka Fear of Missing Out Phishers often create a sense of immediate crisis or limited-time opportunity (e.g., "Your account will be suspended in 24 hours!" or "Exclusive limited-time skin unlock!"). This triggers our primal fight-or-flight response, bypassing rational thought and pushing us to act without deliberation. The fear of loss (of access, of a rare item) is a powerful motivator. When you feel a sudden surge of urgency or excitement from an unexpected message, stop and take a deep breath. A legitimate service will rarely demand immediate action without prior warning. Verify independently through official channels, not by clicking links in the suspicious message. Authority Bias Humans are conditioned to respect and obey authority figures. Phishers expertly mimic legitimate sources like game developers, platform support, or even government agencies. The use of familiar logos, official-sounding language, and seemingly authentic sender addresses exploits our tendency to trust perceived authority without question. Never assume legitimacy based solely on appearance. Always cross-reference. If you receive an unexpected email from "EA Support," don't click a link in the email. Instead, open your browser and manually navigate to EA's official support website to log in or check your account. The "Intriguing Mystery" Phishing Our brains are wired to seek out novelty and resolve unknowns. Phishers exploit this by sending messages that pique our curiosity (e.g., "See who's talking about you!" or "Your private photo has been leaked!"). The desire to know, to uncover the "secret," overrides caution, leading us to click. Before clicking on anything that triggers intense curiosity, engage your critical thinking. Is this too good to be true? Does it make sense that I would receive this message? If it sounds sensational or unbelievable, it likely is. Reward Phishing We often feel a subconscious obligation to repay a favor or respond positively to someone who has given us something. Phishers leverage this by offering enticing "rewards," "freebies," or "exclusive access" (e.g., "Claim your free legendary loot box!"). The desire to accept the perceived gift can blind us to the underlying danger. While it's nice to receive gifts, be highly suspicious of unsolicited windfalls, especially those requiring you to click a link or provide personal information. Legitimate giveaways from reputable companies will always direct you to their official website or have a clear, secure claiming process. If you didn't enter a contest, you didn't win. The "Everyone is doing it" Phishing Humans are social creatures, and we often look to the actions of others to determine what is correct or safe. Phishers can create a false sense of social proof by impersonating friends, guildmates, or popular streamers, often sending messages like "Hey, check out this amazing new game!" or "I just got this awesome item using this link, you should too!" This can lead us to believe that if others are clicking, it must be safe. Even if a message appears to come from a trusted friend, consider the context and how they usually communicate. If it seems out of character, or if the link is suspicious, contact your friend through a separate, verified channel (e.g., a direct message on a platform you know is secure, or even a quick call) to confirm. Stay vigilant! Pause, verify, and think critically before clicking on unexpected links or acting on urgent messages—protect yourself from phishing scams! How to avoid phishing Online Security Newsletter - Feedback Form Online Security Newsletter - Challenge Creation Interest Form Online Security Newsletter - Volume 6 Quiz
