Gamers Warned of Fake 'Fortnite' APKs for Android Devices

Gamers are being warned against downloading APKs that are pretending to be real “Fortnite” content for Android devices.

Epic Games has seen a huge success for the franchise, especially after the Early Access release of “Fortnite Battle Royale” on the PC and gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The “Fortnite” fan base further expanded after the game was brought to iOS.

The Android version of “Fortnite” has yet to be released. Luckily, Epic Games has already issued a statement confirming that the game is arriving in Android. “We are targeting this summer for the release. We know many of you are excited for this release, and we promise that when we have more information to share, you’ll hear it from us first,” the developer added.

A very excited “Fortnite” fan base plus a yet-to-be-released version of the game on another big platform, Android, is the perfect situation cybercriminals would hope for. And, according to reports, there are already several ways that fake “Fortnite” APKs are being spread across the internet.

According to Android Authority, crooks are targeting young gamers and are tricking them into downloading fake “Fortnite” APKs that are most likely injected with malware. These fraudulent apps are posing as beta versions of the Android “Fortnite” game even though Epic Games has clearly never made an announcement about it.

Even more alarming is the fact that these fake APKs are being advertised on the official YouTube app.

Android Police writer Corbin Davenport shared on Twitter a screenshot of a YouTube ad titled “Fortnite Android Now Available." Needless to say, the ad is a scam and is only referring to a fake "Fortnite" APK.

In Davenport’s Twitter post, a follower said that other YouTube ads for fake “Fortnite” even lure gamers into opening malicious websites or software with the promise of getting free sums of V-bucks, the game’s microtransaction currency.

As for the particular YouTube ad scam that Davenport found, Android Police said it leads people to a website injected with a security issue. Another person who has visited the same website reportedly shared that it has been “stealing” accounts of “Fortnite” players.

Amid all these fake APKs, the best thing that Android users who are "Fortnite" fans can do is to wait for Epic Games’ official announcement.