Epic Games' multiplayer shooter Fortnite is a huge hit with teenagers and many parents have expressed concern about their children spend playing it. But while most of the concern has been aimed at children who are neglecting their schoolwork, a recent news story has left some parents considering the game as a security risk.
An Ohio news station reports that Jake Bates, a 13-year old Fortnite player from Mason, OH recently found himself being duped by a fellow player. When Bates was chatting with another player in the game, they convinced the teen that they could give him more Fortnite skins if the teen handed over his username and password.
Bates obliged, and this seemingly benevolent player then proceeded to hijack the teen's Fortnite account as well as his email account, even changing the passwords (including the recovery passwords) and phone number preventing him from getting it back. As the teen had spent hundreds of dollars on Fortnite skins, it also meant that the hacker had access to Bates' credit card details as well as the personal information found in his emails. Jake Bates and his mother, Amy Bates, have reportedly filed a complaint with Epic Games but it's unclear whether the developer has been in touch yet.
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As many will be quick to note, the game does explicitly warn players against handing over their account details. This is something that Amy Bates herself points out, saying, "It says on the game not to give your information out and, ya know, I’m like, it’s a lesson learned." Epic Games has also repeatedly stressed the importance of account security as other kids have been scammed, in some cases youngsters have been fleeced for thousands of dollars.
However, some would argue that the developer still hasn't gone far enough. While Epic does include an in-game message about account security and has posted spirited warnings about hackers on its social media pages, what else could the developer be doing?
Parents of young Fortnite fans may want the developer to introduce some sort of educational program or tutorial specifically tailored to younger players in an effort to avoid this from happening to their children. Or, some parents may want to be given the educational tools themselves so that they can understand what the dangers are and how to avoid them, even if they don't play Fortnite themselves. Unfortunately, given the prevalence of these scams, Jake Bates' story is unlikely to be the last of its kind, and many will hope that further action is taken to beef up security in the game.
Fortnite is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and iOS devices. An Android release is also planned for summer 2018.
Source: CBS