CEO of Epic Games Tim Sweeney tweeted his concerns on a cryptocurrency scam that revolves around his smash hit battle royale game, Fortnite.
He lashed out at the crypto platforms that “support” the listing of the unlicensed “Fortnite tokens.” While he shows his openness towards metaverse gaming, he also cares for his player base, who may become victims of these fake Fortnite cryptocurrencies.
Tim Sweeney Addresses Confusion
Because these trading platforms allow traders to transact virtually any cryptocurrency, contract addresses need to be confirmed manually.
Sweeney talked about the Fortnite Token (FNT), which showed up on legitimate platforms including SushiSwap, PancakeSwap, and CronaSwap. He said that the FNT is not a real cryptocurrency and has no value. Furthermore, the Fortnite game itself has no connection to any blockchain, web3, or NFT technology.
Sweeney warned people to be aware of scammers who might try to take advantage of the game’s popularity. In addition, he advised everyone in the crypto market to only buy cryptocurrencies from licensed exchanges.
“We are investigating services that appear to be offering unlicensed, unauthorized trading of in-game items or currencies. These services violate our terms of service and we are taking appropriate action against them,” Sweeney said.
He also added, “You can’t use the Fortnite name and images without permission to market an unrelated product,” which is evident for any product selling.
Still, the rules of cryptocurrency get bent a lot by Ponzi schemers and scammers such as those who established gimmick coins like Fortnite Token, Squid Game Token and Waifucoin.
Sweeney concluded his thread by saying that Epic Games is “committed to investigating and taking action against scam artists” who try to take advantage of their games and their players.
Fortnite and Its Never-Ending Fight against Scammers
This isn’t the first time scammers have used Fortnite as bait. In October 2021, some news stories reported that criminals were informing Fortnite gamers that they could trade their non-crypto V-Bucks for dollars by using an unlicensed “Fortnite Coin.”
The scammers then created a fake website that looked like an official Fortnite page. The site claimed that the registered player could use the new cryptocurrency to buy in-game items and even offered “free” V-Bucks for anyone who signed up.
Fortunately, no one fell for the scam – but it just shows that everyone needs to be careful when it comes to any offers involving cryptocurrency, especially if they seem too good to be true.
