Top-up safety: how to buy without losing your account

Context: why this matters

Since 2022, the market for unofficial top-up shops has grown rapidly in Russia — dozens of sites sell currency for Genshin, PUBG, Standoff and hundreds of other games. Among them are honest services, but there are also outright scammers who either take your money without delivering or hijack accounts.

If you follow a few rules, the chance of losing your account or your money is close to zero.

Rule 1: NEVER share your password

Any top-up shop that asks for your game account password to "activate", "link" or "confirm" something is a scammer. No exceptions.

Modern top-up architecture works by UID without logging into your account. You tell the shop "credit the currency to ID 123456789", and the supplier calls the game server's API and credits it. Your password is not needed anywhere in that chain.

The exception: "delivery via an operator" / "by login". These are rare games where the publisher hasn't opened an API for direct top-ups. In those cases the shop asks you to enter a login and password so it can sign in and buy the top-up inside the game. The risk: the operator will see your account. What to do:

• Choose items labeled "by UID" / "auto", where no login is required.
• If you pick "by login", change your password and enable 2FA immediately after delivery.
• Never share your main account password with a Telegram bot or in an operator's private message.

Rule 2: NEVER share your 2FA code

The two-factor authentication code (the one that arrives by SMS, email or in an Authenticator app) is your "second key". A top-up shop never needs it, under any circumstances.

If someone asks for your 2FA code, it's either a real-time account takeover or an attempt to deceive you. Break off the deal and report the takeover attempt to the game's support.

Rule 3: Pay through secure channels

Payment methods at a trustworthy shop:

• MIR card through a certified payment gateway — the card data is processed by the bank and never reaches the shop.
• SBP (Faster Payments) — the safest option: no card data at all, a transfer by phone number/QR.
• YooMoney — payment via Yandex.

Suspicious methods:

• A direct transfer to a private individual's card (no acquirer at all)
• WebMoney, QIWI without identity verification
• "Crypto" from wallet to wallet (no protection whatsoever)
• "Through a Telegram bot with a QR code" without a website

Rule 4: Check the site before buying

A checklist for a new shop:

1. HTTPS — the padlock icon in the address bar. Without HTTPS, don't buy at all. 2. Legal details in the footer — the company's registered name, OGRN/INN (Russian company IDs). If they're absent, the shop doesn't legally exist. 3. Reviews on external platforms — Trustpilot, Yandex Maps and similar. On-site reviews are easy to fake. 4. Domain age — whois shows the registration date. If the domain is less than a month old, the risk goes up. 5. Legal documents — the offer agreement, refund policy, data-processing policy. These should be meaningful texts, not a "placeholder".

Rule 5: Start with a small purchase

Your first purchase at a new shop should be the smallest package. If it arrives correctly, you can raise the amounts. It's the loss of a small sum in the worst case versus the loss of a large one.

After 2-3 successful purchases you can go for bigger packages — repeat-customer protection: a shop won't risk its reputation over a single customer who has already placed several successful orders with it.

Rule 6: If something feels off — stop

Signs of a scam attempt during a purchase:

• The site asks you to enter your game password
• After payment, a demand for "extra fees" / "verification" arrives
• They ask you to move to Telegram "for speed" instead of the on-site chat
• The support chat suddenly goes quiet
• "Urgent countdown promotions" appear, pressuring you to decide fast

At any of these signs — close the tab, don't pay, and check the site via 2ip.ru or Whois.

Rule 7: Enable 2FA on your game accounts

The best protection is 2FA on the account itself, so that even if someone learns your password they still can't log in. All the major games support it: Genshin (HoYoverse Account), PUBG (Krafton), Standoff 2 (via Google or email), Brawl Stars (Supercell ID).

The standard rule: never buy top-ups by login/password + 2FA via an Authenticator app on every account.

Rule 8: Keep your receipts

After payment you should have:

• The email confirming the order from the shop
• The bank receipt for the charge
• A record in your account area on the shop's site

These three documents are your legal grounds for a refund if something goes wrong. A chargeback through the bank only works if you have proof that you tried to resolve the issue honestly through the shop.

Conclusion

Top-up safety isn't a hard technical task, just a matter of following simple rules:

1. No passwords or 2FA codes 2. Only proven payment methods 3. The company's legal details in the site footer 4. A small first purchase 5. 2FA on your game accounts

If a shop breaks the first two points — close the tab. If it follows them, you have close to 100% protection from any problems.

ASHOP works strictly by UID, without passwords, and we never request passwords or 2FA codes. Ready to give it a try? Catalog →