British man arrested for virtual thefts

By Jake Widman
Tuesday, 01 December 2009 03:57

Home IT

A man in Britain has been accused of logging into an online game as other people's characters and stealing their in-game possessions. Such virtual goods can be sold offline for "real" money.

The thefts took place in RuneScape, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) that claims to be the "world's most popular free MMORPG."

Police authorities believe the unnamed man used a phishing scheme to obtain RuneScape players' login details.

The report in the Times Online does not describe what the man did with the virtual characters once he managed to adopt their identities.

However, there is an aftermarket for RuneScape character and objects -- as there is for other such online games -- in which in-game items can be sold for real money. On this site, for example, Antifire Potion can be had for US$17.60, while other sites offer characters with upgraded abilities for $100 or more.

This aftermarket has even given rise to a hybrid industry, called "gold farming," in which workers play games, often in sweatshop conditions, to earn objects that their employers then sell for real-world currency.

There was no indication that the man arrested was involved in offline sales of the characters or objects he stole. He was let off with a Police Caution, a disposition in which the accused admits the offense but avoids formal prosecution.