How Can Hackers Make Money?
This may seem a little weird: after all, why would people care about an in-game account? Surely anyone who owns a copy of the game already has their own account – why would anyone want to steal one?
Invested Hours
Things become a little easier to understand when you realise that different accounts hold different weights to them. For instance, let’s say two people have an account for an online RPG. One person has just made their account, while the other has been playing for years and has a lot of levels under their belt. The latter player has a higher value on their account than the former in terms of invested hours. At the same time, their account is more desirable and will fetch a higher price if sold on the black market.
Rare Items
Some online games have rare items that players can collect. For instance, Fortnite has cosmetic items that are very valuable to players. As such, hackers are keen to crack open Fortnite accounts and sell the goods online. Items can be earned through luck, effort, or money, depending on the game. Either way, items have an intrinsic value to them, and hard-to-acquire items will command higher price tags.
What Do Hackers Do with the Accounts?
Because these accounts have a value to them, hackers will often sell them on the black market for real money. They’re typically sold to people who have played the game but don’t want to put in the work or the effort to reach the end results. For instance, if someone really enjoys an online RPG but doesn’t want to level their character to the maximum level, they can go online and buy a hacked account that’s leveled up.
Do They Make a Lot of Money?
Potentially! Hackers tend to attack accounts at random. Instead of locating a valuable account and trying to crack it, they’ll brute-force a wide selection of accounts and hope that the ones they get into are valuable. If they do manage to get ahold of valuable accounts, they could turn a very tidy profit with them. The BBC reported that teen hackers made “thousands a week” by hacking Fortnite accounts. Because Fortnite items are so desirable, they can sell accounts for hundreds of pounds to eager players.
Are All Sold Accounts Hacked?
Not all! Some accounts are simply owned by players who are tired of the game and want to make a profit from the time spent on the game. However, even if someone is willingly giving up their account, the game’s developers may have rules against purchasing accounts. As such, people who buy accounts may find themselves banned from the game due to account selling.
Game On
Making a profit as a video-game-account hacker may sound strange, but it’s very much real! With gamers wanting to shortcut their way into levels and items, hackers will always have a use for compromised accounts. Now you know why hackers target game accounts. Would you ever consider buying a game account on the black market? Let us know below.
