How can cheating prevention mechanisms be implemented in PHP to secure database values?

To prevent cheating in PHP and secure database values, one approach is to use prepared statements and parameterized queries when interacting with the database. This helps prevent SQL injection attacks by separating SQL logic from user input.

// Establish database connection
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase', 'username', 'password');

// Prepare a statement with placeholders
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = :username");

// Bind parameters to placeholders
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $username);

// Execute the query
$stmt->execute();

// Fetch results
$results = $stmt->fetchAll();