Everything has a flipside, and so does Fortnite. While it enjoys the luxury of being one of the most played games in the world, it is not devoid of pitfalls that emanate from the advent of technology. Similar to every online title, Fortnite is also plagued with scams.
Scams are the bane of online gaming. Although most popular online games have an efficient anti-cheat system in place, the internet remains unmonitored and often serves as a hotbed for malicious activity. The underbelly of online gaming remains an unforgiving but flourishing domain.
Epic constantly campaigns against scams and strives to prune the nuisance of duping. This listice aims to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of the most common scams that surround Fortnite and equip them with information that would in-turn help them stay vigilant against such attacks.
8 Fortnite scams that the community should remain vigilant against
1) Free V-Bucks
The internet is rife with free V-Bucks scams and is one of the most prevalent duping techniques out there. It is Fortnite's in-game currency and every in-game transcation is done using it.
Since there is no surefast way to acquire V-bucks for free, many players turn to the internet hoping to get their hands on some free currency. Sadly, upon interacting with websites offering free money, their machines get infested with malware and their Epic account gets compromised.
2) Skin Swapper
Free Fortnite skins and other such offers are nothing but tricks to dupe unsuspecting victims. Not every player wants to spend real money on some virtual cosmetics; this is where Skin Swappers come in. These alleged real-time scripts (disguised as softwares) promise players free access to each and every Fortnite skin till date.
It might seem like these work, but nobody else can see these skins, either in the lobby or in a match — except for the players themselves. Such scripts run in the background and often introduce latent demons like crypto miners and other malicious processes into the players' systems.
3) Support-a-Creator scams
Epic games has an impressive program in place that helps creators earn money. They can register with Epic and get their 'creator code' issued. They can then ask their followers to use this code for any of their in-game purchases. Creators receive a percentage of every transaction that is done using their codes.
Simply put, it is a melange of referrals and affiliate programs. While the majority of creators use it diligently, some use it to bait players into using their code by promising free V-bucks, gift cards, and other such offers. The scam has become rampant in recent times. If players feel that they have been duped, they can report any such incident to Epic Games.
4) Hacks and cheats
Every player wants to be at top of their game. While some achieve this feat by grinding and putting in hours, others often turn to hacks and cheats. These malpractices have been around since video games became available to the masses.
Hacks like aim-bots, wall-hacks, and others claim to help players improve their game, but they end up ruining the experience for everyone.
While many websites on the internet provide such scripts for Fortnite, they are nothing but malware-ridden codes that can infiltrate the system and compromise players' data. If these hacks somehow do work, Epic's anti-cheat is capable enough to block such users and report the corresponding accounts from matchmaking.
5) Account trading
Enterprising players have found certain ways to monetize certain aspects of gaming, and account trading is one of them. These days, willing players can sell or purchase game accounts that belong to other players. High-ranking accounts with a profusion of cosmetic items are what these buyers and sellers trade for.
While this isn't an illegal per se, there isn't any monitoring body in place that would moderate such transactions. This flaw is what some devious players use to trick gullibe buyers. They often lure "customers" with details of some coveted gaming accounts and once the transaction goes through, the buyer is duped with a rather simple and unworthy account.
6) Fake Fortnite apps
While Fortnite applications are available on the majority of platforms, a plethora of fake ones exist as well, especially on platforms where the game isn't available. These apps use a similar name and convincing art style that might render the impression of being legit to someone naive.
These apps are nothing but hosts for RAT. Remote Access Trojan (RAT) is a virus that can compromise the file access of an operating system, and hand over native controls to a third part which in-turn can access personal data on the system. It can even use other features to perform unwanted tasks.
7) Followback giveaways
Epic games is very supportive of content creators and even runs certain programs that can benefit the creators. Followbacks and giveaways are quintesential barter tenders for creators who are relatively new and are trying to grow their content outlet. Many of them promise followback and giveaways to attract new followers. While some of them deliver, others don't.
Some content creators use this trick to populate their channels and never deliver on their promises. Since there isn't any fiscal loss, followers don't really report such cases. This might seem unimportant compared to other mentions on the list, but it is a scam nonetheless.
8) Baiting minors
A disturbing thing I found when investigating the payment option for buying V-bucks for Fortnite is that companies like Klarna are getting into the payment market (in addition to a lot of virtual credit card services). Buy now pay later + minors + anonymous payments = a hot mess twitter.com/peterkulche/st… https://t.co/4JboNGUEum
Unfortunately, this nuisance has trickled into online gaming too. There is no denying that the key demographics of Fortnite players are from pre-adolescent and adolescent age groups. This provides an opportunity for predators to cat-fish unsuspecting players by posing as others from the same age group.
There is no sure-fire way to tell which account can pose such a threat, hence this problem becomes a serious concern. While other scams mostly try to dupe money, scams of such nature prey on innocence, and the fallout can be devastating. Parents should regularly monitor their underage wards' online activities to stay vigilant in the face of a possible attack.
Note: Individuals should not partake in activities that might jeopardize their personal data. The media present in the article are for illustration purposes only. Viewer's discretion is advised.
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Edited by Abu Amjad Khan
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