[mr.miyagi]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/38302

[img]http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/9996/armedburglar4jg.jpg[/img]

A student in Japan was arrested for assault and theft the other day. On the internet. Police apprehended the suspect after he used bots to go on a mugging rampage in the MMO Lineage II, stealing items "which could have included the Earring of Wisdom or the Shield of Nightmare" and selling them for actual money online.

Reynolds says the growing number of online game players will only increase the incentive for scammers. "There's nothing exceptional about the virtual world," he says. "Wherever there is that sort of money, there's always crime too." ... There are also reports that some online scammers are using 'sweatshops' in countries such as China and Indonesia in which people monitor teams of bots in order to generate money whilst avoiding bot traps.

Making money off of massively-multiplayer games is nothing new--Sony now condones the practice in Everquest, and anyone who has played an MMO is surely familiar with gold farmers--but virtual crime is a stickier issue. Theft of online items has been in the news more and more frequently, with a particularly notable recent case resulting in real-world murder.

Boooody trap! cry: