If you’re a Fortnite fan, you’ve probably heard about the massive Fortnite hack that took place in December. It was a hack so large it had to be shut down by Epic Games.
The hackers reportedly stole more than 100 million accounts, including those belonging to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber. The stolen accounts were then put up for sale on the dark web, where they were bought at high prices.
But now, some of these stolen Fortnite accounts have turned up on the auction block again.
According to KrebsOnSecurity, stolen Fortnite accounts are being put up for sale on the “darknet” for anywhere from $100 to $1,000 apiece. The highest-priced account is currently sitting at $716. That’s a lot of money for just one account.
The first time this happened was back in July 2018 when stolen Fortnite accounts were sold for less than $100 each. But since then, the price has skyrocketed.
This isn’t the first time a game like Fortnite or its competitors have been hacked. In fact, there have been multiple hacks over the years. Some games have cracked down on their players after repeated hacking attempts, while others haven’t done anything at all. For example, hackers successfully breached the servers of Fortnite competitor Apex Legends last year.
As long as people keep playing these games, it seems likely that they’ll continue getting hacked.
What does it mean to “hack” a game?
Hacking a video game means gaining access to the game’s server (or servers) to gain an advantage over other player(s). This could include things like stealing items or cheating at matches.
In most cases, hackers are trying to break into a game’s server to steal information, usually related to account credentials. These credentials can be used to log into an existing account, create new accounts, or even use them to take part in illegal activities.
There are plenty of ways someone might try to hack a video game, but it often comes down to a few factors. For instance, if a hacker wants to get paid with cryptocurrency, the easiest way would be to hack into a gaming service’s server and steal the digital currency stored inside. But it wouldn’t matter how much money is stored in the server—if there isn’t enough to pay off the hacker, the attempt will fail.
Nowadays, most of the players are using some hacks and with the help of those hacks they get some newly launched fortnite og skins and other items such as gun skin and many more. Doing this makes loss of the company and to prevent this they always make new security patches which help them. But after this also most of the hackers try a way to hack it and crack important things.
On the other hand, if a hacker wants to get paid in cash, he or she may be able to use a bot to play against real human opponents. Botting involves using a program to automate tasks, which would allow a hacker to win without having to compete directly against another person.
In addition to bots, hackers can also use phishing attacks to trick users into providing their login details. Phishing attacks involve sending out emails asking for user names and passwords, which gives the hacker access to the victim’s account.
There are countless ways hackers can approach a video game, and some methods are easier than others. If you want to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at a popular gaming company, check out our article explaining how hackers can infiltrate a company’s network.
How to protect yourself from online scams
Most modern games offer some kind of security measure to prevent people from hacking your account. For example, Fortnite requires that you sign in using a unique email address before you start playing. Your password must also be eight characters or longer, and it must contain numbers, letters, and symbols. To make sure your account is secure, make sure to enable two-factor authentication whenever possible.
Unfortunately, not every game offers strong security measures. You should be wary of buying any account with a suspicious price tag. And if you do buy an account, make sure to change your password immediately and never share it with anyone else.
Some games, like Fortnite, don’t require a password to access the game itself. Instead, you need to authenticate yourself using your email address. This makes it easy for scammers to impersonate you, which is why it’s important to only purchase accounts from legitimate sellers.
Why did hackers target Fortnite?
We know that Fortnite has experienced numerous hacking attempts over the years. However, we don’t know exactly how many times they’ve succeeded. It isn’t uncommon for big companies to experience hacking incidents, especially when they launch new products or services.
It’s been almost four months since the hack occurred, so it’s difficult to say for certain why the hackers targeted Fortnite. One thing is clear: They wanted the data.
The attackers obtained data from Epic Games’ customer support system, which includes account names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and email addresses,”
Epic Games said in a statement. ”
After obtaining the data, the attackers posted it publicly.”
Epic Games says it’s working closely with law enforcement officials to find the perpetrators, and it’s offering a reward of up to $5 million for any useful information that leads to an arrest.
If you think you might have been affected by this hack, visit https://support.epicgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008987909-Epic-Games-Account-Heist-FAQ to learn what to do next. Also, read our guide to help protect yourself from future hacks.
