The skyrocketing rise in popularity of the next-gen real-time battle royale game, Fortnite has acquired an unfortunate allegation. One of the recent allegations on the game states that Fornite is laundering money. Reportedly, Fortnight is nefariously using the giant user base of the platform to launder money.
Criminals are using the platform to launder money
Variety came forward with the report. According to Variety, the criminals are using the stolen credit cards and turning it into cash. To make this happen the criminals are curating a series of transactions which ultimately relies on the game.
The criminals utilize the popularity of the cosmetic item present in the game along with some purchasable content.
How do the criminals launder the money?
First, the criminals set up a free account in Fortnite, and once the account is created, they launder money. This money laundered use the stolen credit cards for purchasing in-game currency V-Bucks along with digital items and skin.
Then these criminals steal the login details of the account on eBay and some of the other auction services. Some criminals go as far as and sell the login details of the account on the dark web as well.
What is the endgame to stop money laundering via Fortnight?
These people with criminal background sell the account for significantly fewer price tags. The process nevertheless turns the stolen credit cards completely into legitimate fiat currency. This is done by purchasing the content via PayPal.
Criminals are using “carding” technique to launder money out of Fortnite. The process of laundering money didn’t begin with Fortnite. The current popularity of the game along with the digital purchases provided an opportunity for the criminals to launder money.
The difficulty in policy making allows users to sell their accounts on the third party markets such as eBay.
This looks extremely authentic and legitimate by the books. The criminals are obtaining digital item along with digital currency in wrongful ways.
Source: ScreenRant, TechRadar
