Fortnite: Free V-Bucks are too good to be true

Fortnite has been a wildly successful game for what feels like forever now. It's no surprise that it's been the most profitable game of the year multiple years in a row. It's accomplished this while being entirely free to play. This is because of the many enticing things players can buy in Fortnite using the game’s currency, V-Bucks. This has led some to create scams targeting desperate players trying to stay up to date with new trends.

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Fortnite “Free V-Bucks” scams you should be aware of

Me rushing to log in to Fortnite to see if I got free v bucks- pic.twitter.com/4wRXiZgbEk

— SnowSpire #BLM (@snow_spire) August 13, 2020

There are too many Fortnite scammers out there to simply list all of them, and there will always be new scammers popping up here and there. In general, if you see someone or something claiming they're giving out free V-Bucks, you should absolutely check to see if it's an official part of Fortnite; either partnered with Epic Games or part of an official promotion. If Epic isn’t involved, then there probably aren’t any V-Bucks at all.

Of course, it’s not enough to just check whatever website is claiming to give out free V-Bucks to see if they’re legitimate. One of the best sources to check for legitimacy is actually the official Fortnite Twitter (@FortniteGame). If any group is fortunate enough to be partnered with Epic to give out free V-Bucks, Fortnite will almost certainly want to advertise them through their official channels.

No matter what, however, do not give your account information to anyone claiming to offer something for free. This is just a good rule to follow, Fortnite or not.

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The anatomy of a scam

only YOU can prevent v bucks scams #Fortnite 😎 pic.twitter.com/0Uy92tc0nt

— rasta pasta (@rastapastatf2) August 12, 2018

Scams like these have a few major ways they operate, and how dangerous they are depends in part on what their goals are. Scams that are after your account will try to entice you to giving up information about your account, your email, password, and so on, which they will use to take control of your account and lock you out of it. Once they have your account, they will usually attempt to sell it to someone.

But not every scam is just trying to steal your account. Sometimes they’re after something more. One known scam targets Fortnite players by asking them to install an app on one of their devices, usually a phone. Once installed, these apps can vary in terms of what they do, but in general you don’t want them anywhere near your information.

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Protect yourself

So 78,000 Fortnite players downloaded an app on their pc promising free V bucks and an aim bot and all it did was give everyone a virus. Then the victims blamed Epic Games for not warning them about scams....people never cease to surprise me with their stupidity.

— s❌ןǝsǝp sɐʞnן (@DragnDeezBallsZ) July 5, 2018

Almost every day at some point a new “Free V-Bucks” scam pops up as one of the most searched terms related to Fortnite. Fortnite players eager to get some free V-Bucks should look at what events Epic runs, such as Community Battles, to stay up to date – and safe.

No matter what, you should always be careful about any person or website that asks for private account information, inside and outside of Fortnite.