'Fortnite' Hacking News: How Can Players Keep Their Accounts Safe?
"Fortnite" accounts are now the target of hackers, with players having noticed fraudulent charges tallied against their Epic Games balance over the past month. Epic has acknowledged the issue and has also offered refunds.
One of the players claimed that his friend saw his account go online and log in to "Fortnite Battle Royale," then proceed to purchase a game called "Save the World." The transaction, which was supposedly done by a third party with access to his account, ran up bills for purchases amounting to $150 and $100, as a Kotaku report recounted one incident.
Dozens of other "Fortnite" players have come forward with similar stories — some of them over at the "Fortnite" community in Reddit, others vented at the official Epic Games forums.
Most complaints were similar, with someone else buying expansions, cosmetic upgrades or in-game currency for "Fortnite" or "Fortnite Save the World."
"We are aware of instances where users' accounts have been compromised using well-known hacking techniques and are working to resolve these issues directly with those players affected," Epic Games acknowledged the issue, adding that any players who think their account could be hacked should contact the player support as soon as possible.
One way to be safe is to get "Fortnite" only from Epic Games, and not from some of the other download sites which may carry copies that have been tampered with, as Polygon noted.
Using a different password just for "Fortnite" is a good practice, and is an effective way to limit any hacking incidents to just one account. That said, a password is even more effective with two-factor sign-in enabled.
Opting into a two-factor sign in is as simple as going to the Account Settings screen and to the Password and Security tab, then scrolling down to click the "Enable Two-Factor Sign In" button. Epic Games also offers more tips to help "Fortnite" players stay safe online.