A new season of Fortnite is upon is, and with it a busload of new scams. This time, internet baddies are intent on stealing the Bitcoin (and data) of Fortnite players.
Computer security firm Malwarebytes conducted an investigation into the Fortnite ecosystem. It uncovered malicious code present in Fortnite downloads including cheats and hacks, such as aimbots and wallhacks. For the non-gamers, aimbots automatically aim your weapon for you, and wallhacks let you see through walls.
The scammers target Fortnite players with YouTube videos that appear to show how the cheats work, in the video description is a link to download the hack.
The link takes the gamer to an illegitimate website where the hack can be downloaded. Only it’s not a hack, it’s a series of malicious files that targets user data and Bitcoin wallets.
According to Malwarebytes, the malicious files appear to collect the sensitive data and send it to an IP address located in Russia.
“Some of the most notable things it takes an interest in are browser session information, cookies, Bitcoin wallets, and also Steam sessions,” the investigation report reads.
The malicious files also contain a “readme” file that further advertises Fortnite cheats for “$80 Bitcoin.”
I have little sympathy for those affected by these kinds of scams. When people cheat in games, it ruins the experience for everyone else, so anyone who downloads dodgy hacks has it coming.
That said, given a sizeable portion of Fortnite’s player base is young and are probably easily duped by these scams, maybe I can cut them some slack.
I empathize more with gamers who download honest looking games from Steam which are actually a front for mining cryptocurrency as they’re played.
Winning is a lot of fun, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your personal data – especially not your Bitcoin.
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