Mecha Chameleon players are using scanning technology to cheat.

Meccha Chameleon is an indie hit unlike anything we've seen before, attracting 15 million players in its first month of release. Unfortunately, with that level of success, it was only a matter of time before the first cheater came into the game looking to ruin the fun for everyone.

Mecha Chameleon now has an imposter

A mecha chameleon player hiding above a door that other players are trying to pass through.

Videos of people attempting to cheat are going viral, with the Meccha Chameleon team confirming that the game has sold 15 million copies. Scammers appear to have an advantage over other hiders by using mods and hacks to scan their surroundings and then use some sort of tool to draw a very accurate picture.

An in-game clip shared on TikTok by mechclix shows a fellow player hiding in an incredibly detailed piece of art, but not doing an intricate painting himself. You'll see your characters drawn line by line, similar to how a web page would load circa 1998, and you can even print out detailed drawings using an incredibly old printer.

Maybe you have to be over 35 to understand early internet references.

Another clip shared by Automaton shows a similar situation, but with a faster process. Again, the trickster uses detailed drawings and color matching, instead of crudely disguising it like others do, and that's what makes this game fun. Their blank canvas is automatically painted to match the background.

Cheaters are being outed by fellow players

The character of Mecha Chameleon is standing.

In Meccha Chameleon, cheating in this way is flawed. It's auto-painting, but not very quickly. You may be spotted by seekers or, as explained in this clip originally shared by thatsjustunreal, fellow lurkers who would rather lose a match than ruin Meccha Chameleon's massive success by scammers.

In this case, the scammer uses a scanner/auto-paint tool to cover the dots and slowly blend them into the landscape. But once his fellow hiders figure out what he's doing, he sacrifices his victory to shame himself, draw a red arrow, and stand next to the crook, making it easier for seekers to find him.

The terrified crooks disappear, only to be rediscovered by the same hiders who continue to stand next to them, still with accusatory red arrows painted on them. At that stage it's already too late for the scammer, as the auto-paint tool is in full effect. But they were afraid of one place on the map where they could use it effectively.

It's a shame that in Mecha Chameleon, of all games, players feel the need to cheat. There really isn't much to it other than bragging rights and leaderboard positions. With the small teams supporting the viral phenomenon, it can be difficult to completely eradicate fraud. I hope it's a small problem that players literally keep pointing out whenever they see this problem happening.