‘Online game puts children at risk from paedophiles’

National Crime Agency warns parents that Fortnite has voice and text chats that cannot be turned off

AN ONLINE game craze is putting children at risk from paedophiles, the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned yesterday. The agency says voice and text chats between players on Fortnite cannot be turned off, meaning that parents are unaware their children are chatting to strangers online.

The game, which features up to 100 players battling to be the last person alive in a player vs player combat, is proving hugely popular in the UK, with many young people said to be disrupting lessons because they are addicted.

Now the NCA has intervened to make adults aware of the dangers. A spokesman said: “Fortnite is immensely popular with children and teenagers across the country. It features voice and text chat that cannot be turned off, so it’s important that parents and teachers understand the broader risks associated with the game and enable safe playing.”

Last month, a mother from Merseyside told how she intervened when her 12-year-old son was offered £50 to perform “sex acts” while playing the game by a man grooming him online.

Officers from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection team, a command of the NCA, also issued lengthy guidance yesterday about the worldwide game. One of the recommendations was for parents to play it with their children, to make sure they’re not talking to anyone dangerous.

It said: “Play with them. It may seem daunting, but one of the best things that you can do is to engage with the gaming environment and begin to understand what makes Fortnite so attractive to young people, as well as giving yourself an idea of the reporting tools available within the game.”

It comes at a time in recent weeks where Fortnite players have reported via social media that their accounts have been hacked, leading to many being hit with high charges for games and other items they never bought.

Some aspects of the game, which features violence as players combat each other while trying to keep monsters at bay, are free, although extensions can cost upwards of £100. Epic, the maker of the game, said it was looking into complaints.

The game is a co-operative survival shooting title that lets players build structures out of materials scavenged from the game. Its most popular format is the Battle Royale mode, which pits 100 players against each other to see who is the last one standing.

Described as featuring “violence” in a “very cartoonish” way, it has grown in popularity this year with users saying it is highly addictive.

In the classroom, teachers have also complained of pupils being distracted while playing the mobile phone version. It has prompted some schools to act by blocking the site across its Wi-fi networks to stop pupils accessing it.