Like clockwork, an army of internet scammers has appeared to attempt to skim cash and information off gullible Fortnite fans. Websites and YouTube videos have sprung up in recent weeks offering to add v-bucks to players’ accounts for free. But it’s a scam, and an old one.
Fortnite is free-to-play, so it makes money selling in-game currency, V-bucks, that players can use to buy upgrades, weapons, and costumes. Websites like fornitehacked.org, free v bucks generator, fortnite v bucks generator, and v buck generator tell gamers they can get free V-bucks if they simply follow some simple instructions. All they need to do is select the amount of cash they want, typically maxing out at 13,500—the equivalent of $99 if purchased legitimately through the game—give the website their Fortnite account name, and either fill out endless surveys or download an app.

If a user visits the site on the phone, it’ll redirect them to the app store and ask them to play a specific app for a few minutes in exchange for the currency. On desktop, the user goes through an endless parade of surveys designed to extract as much information from them as possible.
I tried one of the websites, fortniteupgrade.com, for myself on my PC. At the end of the first survey, it promised me a $100 Chipotle gift card if I’d stick around. When I hit the button to complete the survey, it just took me to another site and another survey. I went through three different forms before I stopped. Each new survey wanted my email address and asked questions about my income, age, the cost of my healthcare plan, and how often I went to the doctor. By the end, I’d been promised a $100 Chipotle gift card, a mountain of free V-bucks, and access to coding software. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get any of that.