Epic Games hack was completely fake, ransomware group admits

Ransomware group Mogilevich has not only confessed to lying about its purported hack of Epic Games, but has claimed to not even be a team of hackers but “professional fraudsters.”

In case you’re out of the loop, last week, Mogilevich said it had managed to steal copious amounts of data from Epic Games, including passwords, payment info, and source code. It also announced intentions to sell the data, but Epic Games quickly stated it had yet to find any evidence of a security breach.

Mogilevich seemingly released said data online on March 3 but, as reported by Cyber Daily, the link led to no private employee details and no secret Fortnite info; just an admission of the group’s real purpose. Describing Mogilevich as “professional fraudsters,” the statement from group representative Pongo reads, “None of the databases listed in our blog were as true as you might have discovered recently. We took advantage of big names to gain visibility as quickly as possible, but not to fame [sic] and receive approval, but to build meticulously our new trafficking of victims to scam.”

Mogilevich alleges to have sold fake ransomware infrastructure to at least eight would-be hackers. They even asked for screenshots of crypto wallets from potential customers, only to use them as evidence it had hacked other peoples’ wallets. They also claim to have fleeced $85,000 after tricking a victim into believing the group had hacked drone company DJI.

“Why confess all this when we could just run away? This was done to illustrate the process of our scam. We don’t think of ourselves as hackers but rather as criminal geniuses, if you can call us that,” said Pongo.

On a surface level, this seems like good news for Epic Games. After all, its data is safe and sound, and they don’t have to worry about an Insomniac Games situation. But all of Mogilevich’s claims must be treated with a pinch of salt. There’s no evidence beyond their word that they’ve successfully duped others into giving them money. This incident also highlights the importance of being just as skeptical with any hacking claims, since it’s always possible they’re completely fabricated to gain attention or spread panic.