According to researchers, hackers are using stolen credit cards to purchase V-Bucks. From there, the purchased V-Bucks are resold at a discount rate to players, as a means of "cleaning up" the currency. Cyber-security firm Sixgill first discovered these activities. The company's agents reportedly uncovered the operations by pretending to be potential customers and engaging in transactions with some of the criminals.

Benjamin Preminger, a Senior Intelligence Analyst at Sixgill, said:

Criminals are executing carding fraud and getting money in and out of the Fortnite system with relative impunity.

It is unclear how much money the scammers have been able to make from these operations. However, Sixgill also noted that the amount of money flowing around Fortnite had seen exponential increases as the game continues to grow in popularity.

A Practical Scam for the Dark Web

The scam operation makes much sense. Ever since its release, the online battle royale game has been a massive hit, attracting hundreds of millions of players in the process. The majority of these players are kids and teenagers, who are impressionable and can often easily be scammed.

The dark web, the secluded part of the internet that can only be accessed via specialized software, is where a lot of online criminal activities are conducted. While the money laundering being conducted with Fortnite's V-Bucks can be found on other aspects of the internet (such as social media platforms), these activities are reportedly being carried out on a much larger scale on the dark web.

Are V-Bucks the New Bitcoin?