Teens Hacking Fortnite Accounts To Steal Celebrities' Crypto Wallets

August 12, 2021 - Los Angeles, CA

Teenage Hackers Target Celebrities' Crypto Wallets

Los Angeles police announced today that a ring of teenage hackers has been targeting celebrities' Fortnite accounts to steal their crypto assets. The hackers, ages 15 to 18, have managed to steal over $300 million in cryptocurrency from at least a dozen stars, according to the LAPD.

"These teens are highly skilled and determined," said LAPD cybercrimes detective John Kim. "They do their research to find security vulnerabilities in these celebrities' accounts and then exploit them to gain access to their crypto wallets and private keys."

Victims of the hacks include YouTube star Jake Paul, rapper Cardi B, and actress Gigi Hadid. "I didn't even know I had that much crypto until these little brats stole it from me," Paul said. "Now I'm actually bankrupt!"

The group operates by hacking into celebrities' Fortnite accounts, then using that access to infiltrate other accounts like email providers, device companies and crypto exchanges linked to the stars. Once they have control of accounts and keys, they quickly sweep out the crypto balances into anonymized wallets.

"They do it fast before the celebrities even realize their accounts have been compromised," Kim said. Police recommend that all users enable two-factor authentication on accounts whenever possible.

The teenage ringleader, whom police have identified as 17-year-old Jason Li, was taken into custody earlier today along with two co-conspirators. Li apparently tried to spend some of the stolen crypto on fancy clothes and a luxury sports car, eventually leading police to track the transactions back to him.

"Jason brings shame to all hackers and has given our profession a bad name," said one hacker commenting on an underground message board. "Has he learned nothing from movies about covering his tracks?"

Li and his accomplices face serious jail time for the hacks and theft. The LAPD warns that the rash of account hacks may have spawned copycats, so celebrities are urged to remain vigilant about security. And for those with crypto assets, it seems, guarding them comes with extra responsibility. The moral of this story: don't mess with hackers, and don't store keys where foolish teenagers can find them.