Dexerto
Fortnite is investigating after players reported waking up to find thousands of V-Bucks drained from their accounts, all pointing to a single creator island.
When Epic Games opened Fortnite to in-island microtransactions on January 9, 2026, it handed creators the power to sell digital goods directly to players using V-Bucks.
The move was designed to attract professional studios and push Fortnite closer to a Roblox-style platform economy, but it also seems to have opened a door that some bad actors appear to have walked straight through.
Fortnite players say they’re losing V-Bucks on an island they say they never played
Reports surfaced in March 2, 2026. Players logged in to find their V-Buck balances nearly wiped, with transaction histories showing a run of 10,000 to 28,000 V-Buck charges to Steal The Brainrot, all on the same date.
One player, a Save the World Founder who had built up around 12,000 V-Bucks through months of daily missions, logged into their PS5 to find just 250 remaining. Five in-island purchases had gone through on March 1, 2026, all on Steal The Brainrot, all at 2,250 V-Bucks each. More than 11,000 V-Bucks, close to 100 euros in value, had vanished.
“I never intentionally played that island,” the player wrote. “I never bought anything there. I didn’t send gifts. I didn’t request any refunds. I received no suspicious login alerts.”
They changed passwords, enabled two-factor authentication, and logged out of all devices before contacting Epic Support. The response offered little reassurance. According to the player, Epic confirmed no unusual login attempts had been detected, said the purchases appeared normal, and noted that in-island purchases are non-refundable.
Fortnite reportedly adding viral Brainrot skins and players are already at war
Fortnite update enables a paid ‘slot machine’ mechanic in Steal the Brainrot
A second player who said they had spent well over $5,000 on V-Bucks over the years reported an even larger loss. They had recently stacked 28,450 V-Bucks and stepped away from the game until a new pass launched. When they returned to check the Item Shop, they had 150 V-Bucks left.
“I’ve got zero playtime on Steal The Brain Rot, but somehow, I’ve spent 28,300 V-Bucks in that island,” they wrote. They ruled out their children as the source, noting their PC stays locked and their kids play on separate consoles with separate accounts. Epic Support told them the same thing it told the first player: nothing looked suspicious, no refund was possible.
A third player, who lost 20,000 V-bucks, said they had already tried Epic’s live chat, only to be told the team does not handle in-island transactions. Individual charges apparently cannot be flagged as unauthorized through the standard reporting interface, and Epic does not operate a public phone support line.
Epic Games has said it is looking into the issue.
