Kids play Roblox or Fortnite? Read this now!
Imagine if either of these online games were your business. In a single day, you had all these customers showing up at your site or store.
- Roblox has 66,100,000 daily active users.
- Fortnite has 237,000,000 daily active users.
That’s a ton of people sitting in front of screens, right? Cue the hackers and scammers. They noticed it, too.
If you have kids in the family, chances are they’re playing Roblox or Fortnite. What you (and them) don’t know is there’s a dark, scammy side that’s getting more extensive and sinister. This is important information for all parents and grandparents to know.
One family was hoodwinked after their 11-year-old daughter was tricked on Roblox. Her parents bought her two custom avatars for her birthday — valued at a whopping $280. A day later, another player tricked her and stole them. Poor kid.
Earlier this year, over 300 Roblox users were caught laundering money through the game. They used fake in-game purchases (for items that didn’t exist) to transfer real money. A class action lawsuit is currently underway for the victims. And you know how that goes … lawyers make the most bank.
Bad news: There’s a bigger, badder scam in town. Thousands of reputable websites — universities, professional organizations and even U.S. government agencies — have been hacked to push Fortnite and Roblox scams to kids.
The plot thickens
The premise is simple: Hackers scan a website for a vulnerability or weakness in the backend, then upload what are known as “poison PDFs.” These malicious documents appear in search results, promoting everything from free Roblox in-game currency (Robux) to free Fortnite skins.
You think you’re getting free Robux, but wait! There’s just one “last step.” A pop-up asks you to sign up for another service to unlock your free gift. Fill it out and the only gift you get is a computer virus — or identity theft.
These scams aren’t limited to websites. They can be found in YouTube videos and surveys, too. Roblox and Fortnite are just the latest victims. Similar scams have been reported offering free Amazon gift cards or cash prizes.
Guard the fort
Talk to your kids about this with any game they play. Tell them to watch out for:
- Anyone offering free Robux, memberships or valuable items is definitely a scam. The same goes for any in-game currency. This stuff has real value!
- Fake messages. Official messages from Roblox come from the site’s “Roblox” user or @roblox.com email domains.
- People who ask too many questions. Never share your full name, address, phone number or other details with strangers online.
Parents, instead of linking a credit card to your kids’ Roblox or Fortnite accounts, use a reloadable gift card. You should also help your kids set up two-factor authentication (2FA), use a secure password on their Roblox or Fortnite accounts and keep their games updated to the latest version.
Tags: Amazon, class-action lawsuit, Fortnite, Grandparents, hackers, identity, Online Games, parents, Roblox, scammers, scams, websites, YouTube
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