If you were hoping to enjoy a weekend Fortnite session you might want to think again, as your Bitcoin could be at risk. Fortnite has gained a huge cult following since launch and has an estimated 125 million active players worldwide. Scammers and con artists have cottoned onto this huge following and have started targeting crypto hodlers that play the game.
Scammers are now offering cheats in the form of wall hacks, aimbots, free V Bucks – an in-game currency – and much more. Once a user downloads and installed the bogus pack, they will have inadvertently installed a script that will dig through their computer looking for information related to cryptos. It will scan for seed phrases, wallet addresses, and any online wallets or exchanges the gamer may have used. This new dawn of crypto scams will surely have the gaming community worried.
Crypto Crimes Creeping into Gaming
The gaming industry is incredibly popular, and billions of people around the world game daily. Recently, Abstractism was pulled from the Steam store as it contained a malicious code, with this eventually revealed to be a crypto mining script. This meant that players who played the game were secretly mining cryptos for the developers. Players were encouraged to leave their machines on with the game running and were offered special bonus loot drops as a reward. In reality, this was so that their machines could mine more cryptos. What this cultivated in was an embarrassing episode for Steam, who were caught unaware by such a malicious title being for sale on its store.
Bitcoin Hiding in No Man’s Sky
Hidden in another cult indie game was actually something much more rewarding in the form of free Bitcoin. While it wasn’t nearly enough to be life-changing, it gave gamers a fun way to try and get their hands on the pioneering cryptocurrency. No Man’s Sky is the largest open world RPG game, boasting over 14 quintillion planets that are explorable, for that reason it was the perfect place for a Bitcoin treasure hunt.
Blockchain is the Future
It goes without saying really that blockchain is the future of the gaming industry. All games have their own form of virtual currency, it’s only a matter of time before the games decide to make it a cryptocurrency. By using blockchain technology, tricky microtransaction payments quickly become simple and easy. In addition to this, by using a blockchain many companies can cut out credit card payment processing fees entirely, meaning that your in-game loot might become cheaper.
Fortnite gamers need to remain vigilant, but it goes without saying – never download anything that isn’t official. If you’re trying to download and install a wall hack or aimbot you probably deserve to have your computer infected. Once blockchain technology is adopted by games, hacks and performance-enhancing mods will become a thing of the past.
