PSA: The Epic Games Store Doesn’t Verify Email Addresses

While the Epic Games Store includes some features that help it stand out from the competition, such as a free game every two weeks, it lacks some basic necessities that have left gamers scratching their heads. Case in point: the Epic Games Store doesn’t verify emails when users create accounts. Unscrupulous people can create fraudulent accounts, and the people who own the associated email addresses are none the wiser. Did I say can create fraudulent accounts? I meant have created fraudulent accounts.

Recently, a reddit user by the name of -dov- brought this issue to light. In their thread, -dov- recounts a situation that might seem all too familiar to some readers.

Apparently, -dov- tried to create an Epic Store account and discovered several fraudulent accounts that used emails addresses they owned. Doing what any rational person would do, -dov- deactivated the accounts, changed the email address passwords, and checked their bank and credit card statements for fraudulent activity. Everything seemed fine, and that’s when the wheels started turning in -dov-‘s head.

The first question that crossed -dov-‘s mind is how these fraudulent emails were created. They didn’t receive any verification emails, and then -dov- remembered they didn’t receive a verification email for the new account either.

As an experiment, -dov- created another account with yet another email address, and sure enough, no verification email. And -dov- is not alone.

The reddit thread is full of commenters with similar stories. Users spammed with emails that state “Your Epic account was accessed/changed.” People discovering accounts they never created that use their emails. The list goes on.

I too discovered a fraudulent Epic Store account made with one of my email addresses. Not only did I not receive any email verification messages, but here is where things get freaky. The fraudulent account’s name was a random set of letters and numbers, had its region set to Thailand, and was made by someone named Ican Icanaw. Apparently, this person also created fraudulent accounts discovered by -dov- and by fellow reddit users GimmeCat and GhostZee.

Needless to say, commenters are furious at Epic Games. One can only hope the company fixes this oversight soon.