A BOY aged 12 has been groomed over Snapchat by a perv offering him free Fortnite V-bucks.

Cops in Northern Ireland issued a warning after the boy was added on Snapchat by a stranger who struck up a conversation about Fortnite before asking for inappropriate pictures.

2 Fortnite is rated 12+ in the UK, but many parents allow children who are even younger to play Credit: Epic Games

The stranger offered £500 in V-bucks, Fortnite's in-game currency that's used to buy new outfits and other cosmetic items in exchange for pictures of himself.

The nameless perv then offered a further £100 "for his face and more for more graphic images".

"One picture was sent," according to police in County Antrim, but this was "thankfully not of a graphic nature".

Snapchat is meant to only be available to those aged 13 and over in the UK under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

2 Credit: Epic Games

Kids can play with friends - or be matched up with complete strangers"The young boy has since been threatened that he would be have his picture posted on Facebook if he did not continue," Ballymenny PCNI said in a statement posted to Facebook.

"Please please please be careful online. No one will give you money or vouchers if you send them pics. It simply will not happen."

"There is always an ulterior motive behind it and some creep on the other end looking to exploit you," cops said.

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"Parents its worth while looking into safe online practices and monitoring your kids internet usage and time to ensure they are safe."

The warning comes after the National Crime Agency issued an alert in April about paedos using Fortnite itself to groom children, while parents have revealed their own horror stories about strangers approaching their children in-game.

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