Parents have been warned to be on the watch for Malicious Links or Apps for download for Android devices, ahead of its expected release.

Fortnite, a free to download game, has become an incredibly popular online game with 125 active users per month, boasting revenues of up to $100 million in just 90 days. The revenue came from user In App purchases within the game. Fortnite is available on several platforms including Playstation 4, XBox and has been available on IOS for some time.

With the imminent release of Fortnite Android, vulnerable children and teens are now being taken advantage of, by the creation of Malicious Apps and Links which promise access to the Android version prior to its release. “There are several videos on YouTube with links claiming to be versions of Fortnite for Android,” Nathan Collier, a mobile researcher at security firm Malwarebtyes,

This form of online scam is very easy to fall victim too. The danger being that Personal Information, or Money can be taken from the innocent victim, as they attempt to get access to this hugely popular game. Money is also generated from directing the user to legitimate Apps which are required for download from Google Play Store. However, you never actually get to access a playable version of Fortnite after following the instructions on the Link of Malicious App.

“Fake apps spread by social engineering, such as by enticing users with the possibility of playing a popular game,” says Vaibhav Rastogi, a computer science research associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The vulnerability exploited here is not in the computer system but in the human.”

We would advise parents to make their children and teen's aware of the existence of these Malicious Apps and Links, such as Fortnite for Android. or How to Install Fortnite with Android,  to prevent devices from being infected. The game will be available later on this Summer, but for now, the best advice is to avoid downloading Fortnite, or anything claiming to be Fortnite, on Android for the moment.

Team @COTDAge