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Fortnite and Unreal Engine maker Epic Games is suing a player, Isaac Strock, for allegedly stealing and selling “hundreds” of Fortnite accounts. Epic Games announced the lawsuit in an anti-cheat update on its website on Feb. 27, filed that day in an Illinois court.
In the 21-page lawsuit, Epic Games claims that Strock used social engineering to access Fortnite accounts, citing at least four instances of Strock contacting Fortnite support in an attempt to gain access to accounts that he didn’t own. Here’s how Epic Games put it:
For example, on June 16, 2023, Strock contacted Epic’s player support team and asked them if they could change the email on “my account,” when he was actually referring to another player’s Epic Games account. He tried to deceive Epic’s player support by providing information that only the true account holder ordinarily has, such as the username associated with the Epic Games account, any platforms that account is linked to (e.g., PC, Xbox, and PlayStation), and the platform usernames associated with the account. Strock executed a similar scheme during each of the other instances referenced above.
Stock successfully gained access to accounts using this method, Epic Games says in the lawsuit. It also says he used the dark web or data breaches to mine email addresses and passwords that allowed him to log in to Fortnite. Then, according to the lawsuit, he sold the Epic Games accounts using Telegram. Epic Games claims that Strock sold an account on Sept. 12, 2024, for “approximately $425 worth of Bitcoin”; it included 146 skins and 30 V-Bucks, Fortnite’s in-game currency. Epic Games found Strock’s IP address using the account the day it was listed for sale, according to the lawsuit.
On his website, which is now unavailable online, Strock stated he’d sold 482 “products,” which Epic Games claims were emails, passwords, and other information used to get into Fortnite accounts. He also operated another Telegram channel, Epic Games said, where others could sell Fortnite accounts. Strock also allegedly sold a guide that instructed others on how to get into accounts by social engineering — using player support to get access to accounts.
Epic Games says in the lawsuit that Strock has “boast[ed] online about thousands of dollars in profits.”
Strock was banned, according to the lawsuit, but continues to access Fortnite, sometimes using stolen accounts. “Strock’s actions harm Epic and the Fortnite community,” the company says. “Epic has spent substantial resources investigating and working to prevent Strock’s conduct. Strock’s conduct also directly harms Fortnite players who no longer have access to the accounts they spent time and money on.”
Fortnite is a free game, but players spend real money to buy collectible cosmetic items, like dance emotes and skins for their weapons or characters. Players can also unlock these items through gameplay, sometimes in time-limited battle passes, making certain emotes, skins, or weapons quite rare and valuable. Epic Games doesn’t allow the transfer of these items, nor does it allow the buying and selling of accounts. Still, there are plenty of places that let people do just that, including PlayerAuctions — a third-party marketplace that Roblox is looking to shut down in court. Prices vary across Fornite’s shop, with skins typically running around 1,500 V-Bucks. A person can buy 1,000 V-Bucks for $8.99; to have enough to purchase the 1,500-priced skin, one would have to buy 2,000 V-Bucks for $17.98 (or buy a bigger bundle of V-Bucks for more money).
But the rarity and value of Fortnite skins aren’t correlated only to how much money they cost. Epic Games’ Fortnite Item Shop changes frequently, and some items rarely show up again. An item that originally cost 1,500 V-Bucks but hasn’t been back in the Item Shop for some time would likely be more valuable on the black market. The same goes for items that are available to unlock with the battle pass — those skins come with the price of the battle pass, but go up in value due to rarity. Currently, there are dozens of Fortnite accounts for sale on PlayerAuctions, ranging in price from $5 into the thousands.
Strock has not yet filed a response in court.
Epic Games currently has another lawsuit pending against a Fortnite esports competitor who allegedly used cheating software and hardware in weekly tournaments. It also recently settled out of court with Morgan “RepulseGod” Bamford, a former Fortnite esports professional who shared his account with another player to qualify for a major event. He was forced to return his thousands in prize money and publicly apologize on his YouTube channel.
“While the consequence is a cheating ban at minimum, it may also include the loss of tournament winnings and other legal repercussions,” Epic Games said in its Feb. 27 post.
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Kurt Indovina
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