Hackers are compromising Fortnite accounts and spending hundreds in fraudulent charges

As Fortnite grows in popularity, an increasing amount of players are finding themselves the targets of hackers who have managed to rack up fraudulent charges, sometimes worth hundreds at a time. Developer Epic Games has stated that it is aware of the problem and outlined what each player can do to make sure this doesn’t happen.

In an attempt to rule out any form of unique exploit in Fortnite’s code, Epic Games has stated that the accounts reported across Reddit have been “compromised using well-known hacking techniques” in an email to Polygon. Of course, it is working to solve the issues individually with each player, and is treating the matter as a priority over at its player support.

Given that the blame has been pegged on general phishing techniques, Epic has advised that players should start by making sure to download the official client directly from its own website, rather than clicking on the suspicious links that appear when searching for its download.

In its security bulletin detailing the measures which players can take, Epic tells of its own measures to protect its user base. The developer has been actively trying to hunt password dumps “in order to proactively reset passwords for player accounts when we believe they are leaked online.” In the meantime, players can strengthen their own passwords by choosing something unique that hasn’t been used on other accounts.

Alternatively, players can link their social media accounts, however this leaves the player’s Fortnite account as vulnerable as the social media account is. It does, however, make it easier to use third-party password managers, such as LastPass or 1Password.

If this isn’t to your taste, Epic has introduced two-factor sign in for the game directly, accessible from “Account Settings” and clicking on the “Password & Security” tab. Once the email verification has been completed, you’re good to go with the new protection. This is something that is advised any time two-factor authentication is an option.

Other than these steps to further protect passwords, all the player can do it pay attention to transactions and make sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. If anything does crop up, open a ticket up with Fortnite’s support staff who will immediately help.

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KitGuru Says: It’s not just the popular games that are targeted, even if it seems like a more frequent occurrence. Unfortunately, it’s on the user to conduct themselves correctly and take every precaution possible in order to ensure their own protection. It’s not impossible for hackers to then penetrate those barriers put in place, but it is much, much harder.

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