Samsung wants you to stop stealing Fortnite Galaxy skins, please

• Thieves are exploiting Samsung demo devices in stores to get the Samsung Fortnite Galaxy skin for free.
• The Fortnite Galaxy skin is reserved for owners of the Galaxy Note 9 and the Galaxy Tab S4.
• Samsung is trying to deter theft of the skin through demo unit limitations and retail signage.

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When the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 finally hit shelves on August 24, something else debuted along with them: the Samsung Fortnite Galaxy skin, an exclusive customization for your Fortnite character that makes you look like a trippy space god.

The Galaxy skin is one of the most exclusive (and expensive) skins in the game since to get one you must buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (starting price: $999) or a Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 (starting price: $650).

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Check out the trippy (and super elite) Galaxy skin for Fortnite

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 finally hit store shelves on Friday. While the device is certainly a beast when it comes to specs (and its sheer size), it's also going to allow gamers to unleash …

However, some sneaky gamers figured out a workaround by discreetly playing Fortnite on demo devices in retail stores and then claiming the Samsung Fortnite Galaxy skin via that device — without actually buying anything.

The thieving process is pretty simple:

1. Gamers enter a retail shop that has a Galaxy Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4 on display.
2. They install Fortnite on the demo unit and log-in with their credentials.
3. They play through three games on the device and then log out.
4. In 24 to 48 hours, their account (now logged-in on their personal device) receives the Samsung Fortnite Galaxy skin.

The only tricky part to the scheme is playing through the three games of Fortnite without an employee telling you to knock it off.

What sucks is that the Galaxy skin can only be claimed once on each device, meaning that if that demo unit then gets sold as a refurbished model somewhere down the line, the buyer would not have the ability to claim a Galaxy skin. Once it's gone, it's gone.

In response to this, Samsung is now blocking Fortnite installs at Samsung-branded shops around the world. If you try to install Fortnite on a demo device, the installation fails. But at non-Samsung shops where a Note 9 or Tab S4 is on display (such as pretty much every carrier store and Best Buy across America), the installation might not be blocked.

Samsung is also putting up signage, like this one at a Samsung shop (via SamMobile):

SamMobile

While the theft of a Samsung Fortnite Galaxy skin is hardly equivalent to the theft of the device itself, the exclusivity of the Galaxy skin could be a selling point for both the Note 9 and the Tab S4. Now that gamers know that the skin is not as exclusive as it once was, it could potentially cause a minor dip in sales, which Samsung obviously does not want.

NEXT: Fortnite's first Android installer had a major security flaw

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