Nintendo Accounts Hacked and Used for Fortnite Purchases

In the spring of 2020, Nintendo users began reporting a surge in account breaches, with unknown individuals accessing their profiles from various countries around the world. Even worse, many victims have lost money as a result of these compromises.

According to journalists at ZDNet, this wave of hacks started around mid-March 2020 and reached its peak over the following weekend. In recent days, more and more users have received email notifications warning them that suspicious logins from unfamiliar IP addresses have occurred on their accounts.

How Are the Accounts Being Hacked?

So far, it remains unclear exactly how the hackers are breaching Nintendo accounts. One theory is that attackers are using credential stuffing attacks. This method involves using usernames and passwords stolen from one website to try to access accounts on other sites. Hackers often obtain these credentials from the dark web or compile them on their own, then attempt to log in to various services as their victims.

However, many affected users claim they used strong, unique passwords for their Nintendo accounts, often generated by password managers. This suggests that hackers may be using more than just credential stuffing or brute-forcing common password combinations.

Financial Losses and Fortnite Purchases

Victims frequently report losing money due to these hacks. In some cases, hackers purchase Nintendo games using the compromised accounts, but most often, they buy Fortnite in-game currency (V-Bucks) using the credit card or PayPal account linked to the Nintendo profile.

One affected user wrote on Twitter: “I come home from work and discover on the way that my Nintendo account was hacked, and [the hackers] spent $300 on Fortnite. Please hug me ;-;”.

There are many similar complaints on social media. While there are no exact figures on the number of compromised accounts, the problem appears to be widespread. Even well-known individuals have been targeted, such as a game review editor from ArsTechnica.

Fortnite Currency Resold Online

ZDNet journalists, citing their own sources in the cybersecurity community, report finding numerous recent online ads selling Fortnite V-Bucks that were purchased using hacked Nintendo Switch accounts. Researchers believe these listings may be directly connected to the ongoing hacks.