| A man who hacked into accounts to steal virtual | | | | of gamesindustry.biz. “It’s bizarre, but |
| characters and their possessions on one of the | | | | that’s the 21st century for you.” |
| world’s biggest multi-player online game has | | | | The financial rewards on offer have created an |
| been arrested. | | | | underground industry — dubbed gold farming |
| In what experts believe is the first case of its | | | | — where players play in slave-like conditions to |
| kind in Britain, the man obtained log-in details for | | | | obtain the items and sell them on. |
| RuneScape, a web-based role playing game with | | | | In China, where the sale of virtual goods for real |
| more than ten million members, to steal their | | | | money has now been banned, two men from |
| “virtual” characters. | | | | Chengdu were arrested last year for the practice. |
| Players in the game have often spent years | | | | Local media reported that the pair had made |
| creating their online characters by completing set | | | | around £150,000 in six months through gold |
| tasks and activities. | | | | farming within World of Warcraft, employing 20 |
| Police believe that password details were obtained | | | | people in the process. |
| through a so-called phishing scam where a fake | | | | “Our first and only concern is protecting our |
| internet page tricks people into handing over their | | | | player community as we know the high value |
| personal information. | | | | players place on their unique accounts,” said |
| Officers from Central Police e-Crime Unit arrested | | | | Mark Gerhard, chief executive of Jagex Games, |
| the man last Tuesday on suspicion of a number | | | | the Cambridge-based company that launched |
| of computer misuse offences. The man, from the | | | | RuneScape in 2001. |
| Avon and Somerset area and who has not been | | | | “Players invest years of time and effort into |
| named, accepted a police caution. | | | | developing their RuneScape character so the theft |
| Games industry analysts and experts said that | | | | of a RuneScape account shouldn't be treated |
| the case was unprecedented in this country and | | | | differently to the theft of any other valuable |
| represented a legal grey area. | | | | possessions such as a games console, television |
| Complaints about people’s identities and | | | | or car." |
| possessions being stolen within a game have been | | | | Mr Gerhard said that the company took a zero |
| made before, but because it exists only in a | | | | tolerance approach to hackers and worked with |
| virtual world it is hard to say whether they are of | | | | police in Britain and the FBI in America to combat |
| any real value in the real world. | | | | cyber crime internationally. He said that 95 per of |
| But a lucrative market has emerged by those | | | | the hacking crimes within RuneScape were down |
| who want to buy powerful characters and items | | | | to a handful of individuals. |
| within RuneScape and other popular games, such | | | | Similar incidents have occurred around the world. |
| as World of Warcraft. | | | | Last year, a court in the Netherlands convicted 14 |
| The resale of characters and their possessions is | | | | and 15 year old boys after they assaulted |
| often against the rules set down by the makers | | | | another RuneScape player, threatening him with |
| of the games, but there are no criminal laws | | | | knife and forcing him to hand over an amulet and |
| banning it. | | | | a mask within the game. The court set a |
| “A bag of gold, a hammer or a sword within | | | | precedent in that country by saying: “these |
| a game can be worth thousands of pounds,” | | | | virtual goods are goods (under Dutch law), so this |
| said Rob Fahey, games analyst and former editor | | | | is theft”. |