User "LazyLarry" bought a $10 "premium account" on a cheap website. He played GTA V for 4 months, got to level 120 in GTA Online, and bought a $50 Shark Card. One morning, he saw the error: "This Social Club account has been banned due to fraudulent activity." The original owner had reclaimed the account. Larry lost everything—character, progress, money.

Have you encountered a "free GTA V code" scam? Share your story in the comments below to warn other gamers. And if you found this article helpful, share it with a friend who’s still searching for that impossible free code.

A: Very rarely. Only the 2020 Epic Games Store giveaway was truly free. Rockstar’s own promos are usually "buy this and get GTA V free" (like with GPU purchases).