Police arrest teenager over virtual theft

[Al-khiyal]

November 15, 2007 -- Police in the Netherlands have arrested a teenager suspected of stealing virtual objects inside a popular social networking site, it has emerged.

The 17-year-old, who has not been named, is alleged to have tricked players of 3D cartoon world Habbo Hotel before removing a number of virtual items they had bought. It is believed to be the first time European officers have arrested someone for stealing virtual property.

"The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites," said a spokesman for Sulake, the Finnish company that runs Habbo. "As in many other virtual worlds, scamming for other people's personal information such as user names has been problematic for quite a while."

The website, which has around 6 million users each month, is popular among teenagers and younger web surfers around the world. Users of the site are able to create and dress characters, or decorate their virtual hotel rooms with items and furniture bought using real money.

Police in Amsterdam confirmed that five other teenagers were being questioned over the theft, which is believed to have netted items worth around €4,000 (£2,800).

The sale of virtual goods for internet games and online worlds is a boom industry, with the market currently valued at around £750m a year. Despite the popularity of virtual environments such as World of Warcraft and Second Life, virtual property laws remain untested in most parts of the world.

Police in China have been tackling cases of virtual theft for years, including instances of organised gangs engaging in online robbery. Last year officers in the southern city of Shenzhen arrested more than 40 suspects who were accused of stealing up to 700,000 yuan (£45,500) worth of virtual items from users of one popular website, QQ.

Police arrest teenager over virtual theft

[Bent_Bladi]

why the HELL would you spend money on buying something that's just made of 0's and 1's

people are SOOOOOO crazy these days... hah!

that kid shouldn't go to jail, he didn't steal anything... al virtual property al

[nesreen]

oops

one of my twins (14 at the time , now close to 16 ) used a site like that and managed to accumulate lots of things and a special sword and all sorts of nice stuff (i never understood anything about it ) But one day a snake bit him when he was not paying attention and he died , he cried that day because he lost all his wealth . he was very sad . i told him it was a stupid game but most of his friends at school play that game etc..

i was puzzled . i had to use a credit card and spend £10 (not much i know ) so he can buy a life i felt silly paying a single cent for that but i could not see him that upset .

Anyway he stopped that game now and he is paying more attention to his studies . thank god . (he was scammed once and someone tried to steal his stuff , so he changed his password )

[Bent_Bladi]

lol! glad to hear that

[nesreen]

membership to that site is not free , it charges £3 a month , and it has millions of members . my son told me one of his friends' FATHER uses it too .

My son learnt a lot in banking , in agriculture , he used to have a field where he grew vegetables and he talked about his fields like a true farmer .

he also talked about stock market and whether it was the right time to invest , it was crazy .... but now he grew out of it . (both my sons used this site for a long time , many of their friends still use it and when they want to leave , they can sell their belongings and wealth on EBAY i'm not kidding . that's where I bought "a life " for my son .