Fortnite Battle Royale has taken the world by storm. But beware of these possible scams within the computer game.
Millions of young people are obsessively playing this fun game. Unfortunately, this has given ample opportunity for scam artists to attempt to procure money from those playing the game. Here are some scams to watch out for.
What is Fortnite?
Fortnite Battle Royale is a recent new entry in the Fortnite franchise. It’s a variation on the original game, where players trying to survive for as long as possible against other online players. Each game last around twenty minutes. Though the game is free to play, like similar games there are optional in-game purchases to get upgrades. Real money is exchanged for a virtual currency called V-bucks to buy them with.
Typical scams
The in-game options are safe, but the virtual currency has given opportunity for scams. The danger comes as they are led away from the game to dangerous sites. These unsafe websites require various personal data, while of course never giving any virtual currency. There is currently no Android version of the game, so another scam come from websites offering it. Instead of getting a non-existent Android Fortnite, they download malicious software.
Fortnite scams are not only within the game. On YouTube there are many videos suggesting ways of getting free virtual currency. In actual fact, these videos merely suggest links to unsafe sites. Even when these sites are spotted by your computer’s anti-virus software, the problem is your children are attempting to cheat the game. Therefore, they are more likely to skip protections because of it.
Best advice for your children
You don’t need to get caught up in the moral panic around video gaming. The best thing is to teach your children a healthy cynicism about the internet – there is no such thing as free money. If something seems to be good to be true, then it is.
