Man Arrested Robbing RuneScape Characters
Man Arrested Robbing RuneScape Characters
By Kevin Parrish, published on December 1, 2009
" A man was hacking RuneScape accounts and stealing characters.
The UK's Times Online reports that a man was arrested for robbing virtual characters in the browser-based MMORPG, RuneScape. While the image may bring up a virtual thug dragging unsuspecting avatars into street alleyways and robbing their purses and wallets, the case is merely a 23-year-old man hacking into accounts and actually stealing the characters.
Police officials in Britain said this is the first of its kind in the country, and that the accounts were hacked by using passwords obtained through phishing scams. The man--who remained unnamed in the article--was tracked down and arrested last Tuesday. The Times Online also said that the man was accused of "a number of computer misuse offenses."
"By stealing usernames and passwords, hackers can break into these games and steal other player's virtual identities and belongings," said Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos. "This is far from the first time that crime has taken place in a virtual world - in fact there are many examples of investigations into similar illegal activity in other countries."
Virtual theft is a growing problem within MMORPGs and other genres. Greedy players looking for a shortcut will risk compromising local laws in order to gain virtual goods, or to collect and sell characters for real-world cash. "
:source: Source: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/RuneScap...news-5237.html
