Epic warns against Fortnite Android beta scam

Fortnite is a pretty big game right now—you may have noticed the big purple chin who recently started playing—and as is the way of the world, that means that some unscrupulous people are going to try to exploit it for personal gain. Specifically, I'm talking about reports of emails inviting people to take part in a beta test of Fortnite Battle Royale on Android, which Epic says is a scam. 

The origin of the story is a little bizarre: "Various YouTubers," according to GameRevolution—the site didn't name anyone specific, but they're easy enough to find in a YouTube search if you're so inclined—were saying that they'd received invitations to a Fortnite beta on Android. The email, which you can see below, looks convincing at a glance, and the story quickly spread. 

Image source: MasterOv

A closer look reveals a sheen of sketchiness, however, including a couple of telling typos and an originating domain that doesn't look to be official. PR representative Nick Chester took to Twitter to confirm, rather forcefully, that the email is not legit, calling it "an obvious phishing scam."

"The reason I'm coming down on this so hard is that people ARE falling for this scam and are getting their information compromised because of things like this," he added in a follow-up tweet. "It's important people have correct information and are not misled."

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The only mobile version of Fortnite that's currently available is for iPhones. An Android version is in the works, but probably won't be out for another few months. I've reached out to Epic for more information and will update if I receive a reply.

Thanks, USGamer.

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Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.