Predators are on the prowl, looking for an easy target on Fortnite. Lately, there have been many reports of gamers on Fortnite that have been harassed by predators, asking kids to take pictures of themselves, access personal information, and attempting to lure kids.

Fortnite is currently one of the most popular games at the moment and attracts people of all ages. The objective is to be the last person standing out of your other 99 competitors. It currently has one hundred-twenty five million users around the world and is still growing. It is also free-to-play and is rated T for teens, but that doesn’t stop those that aren’t of age from playing.

Usually, people don’t think of the possible dangers that come while playing Fortnite, as it displays a positive image. This positive image allows people not to speculate any bad outcome from the game and often goes under parents’ radars. However, there is the risk of running into an online predator.

Online predators lurk the servers, looking for any given opportunity to try and lure kids. Although allowing people of all ages to play is great, it can be a problem as predators can take advantage of this privilege. Recently, twenty-four men were arrested for allegedly attempting to lure children in Fortnite, according to nj.com.1

Elijah Ferrer, a student at Alisal High School, had an encounter with a predator that attempted to lure him, but fortunately, he left the situation unharmed. His encounter began when he entered a game of squads and applied autofill, allowing other players to join his squad. “A man then spoke…he had a deep voice and a southern accent, who came with a very friendly approach,” he says. However, things took a turn for the worst when he began to ask Elijah for his social media and number, following it with saying it was to grow a friendship in real life, but luckily he didn’t budge. Elijah also stated that the man consistently nagged for his number throughout the game and it got to the point where it started to be aggressive, so he then proceeded to leave the game.

If a kid is ever put into a game with a predator, the warning signs can be clear. A clear sign of a possible predator encounter begins when someone asks a kid for personal information such as pictures, which can be a gateway to get familiar with their victim. Another clear sign is if a person randomly asks if somebody is in the room with you, to stop any interference that could prevent them from luring as well as to avoid being caught. Furthermore, if they try to get you into an isolated environment and begin to ask you plenty of questions, it can be to gain information that can be used to possibly get close to their victim. These are obvious warning signs that should not be ignored.

However, there are ways to avoid getting into these types of situations. For one, people can avoid these predators by restricting themselves to play with people they know, which could prevent any encounters. Completely muting audio chat can also get rid of any risks as it eliminates the option to communicate with others. Furthermore, if you ever feel threatened by someone who you think has bad intentions, a simple solution could just be to leave the game and report the player.

Ultimately, Fortnite players should be wary of online predators that are using Fortnite to lure kids and should speak up against them. To allow people to realize the dangers of the game, insightful research is being done and cops are speaking up on behalf of children and their parents. The purpose of this motive is to educate Fortnite players to recognize predators and be cautious. Further insight is provided in the following article:

1https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/fortnite_mindcraft_join_other_platforms_where_pred.html