There has been much speculation that the global recession would cause an increase in crime. However, nothing has been said about an increase in virtual crime. That was until a player robbed Eve Online's biggest user run banks:
"Facing real world debts, a trusted figure in a popular online game stole money from the virtual bank he ran and exchanged it for cash through the black market.
The CEO of EBank, a 27-year-old Australian tech worker who identified himself only as Richard and used the online name Ricdic, embezzled about 200 billion interstellar kredits, the game's virtual currency."
Eve Online is known for letting it's players "role-play" crooks for a more authentic experience.
"He broke the rules of the game by exchanging the stolen virtual funds for $6,300 Australian ($5,100) with players who preferred to buy virtual money rather than earn it playing the game.
Ironically, if Ricdic had merely stolen the online money he could have stayed in the game. But exchanging the virtual cash for real dollars broke the rules and CCP banned Richard's EBank accounts."
And this is why companies keep spamming people:
"He said a spam email for a black market website that traded online money for real cash popped up on his screen, prompting him to exchange the virtual cash for real money to cover a deposit on his house and expenses related to his son's medical problems."
Here is what we don't understand however:
"Asked if he had any regrets about the scam, Richard said he felt he let down his fellow EBank staffers, many of whom he considered friends.
"I'm not proud of it at all, that's why I didn't brag about it. But you know, if I had to do it again, I probably would've chosen the same path based on the same situation," he said."
Other players could have choosen to sell the currency as well and in effect Richard stole that money directly from other players. Even if it is a game, if you play poker with a bunch of friends and you steal a few extra chips from the pot, you are still stealing. With Eve Online it is a tad bit different as the rules of the game actually allow you to steal from others, but just because the authorities of a game don't punish you for it... doesn't mean what you did wasn't wrong. If you want to sell your virtual currency to pay medical bills then sell your own virtual currency. Don't use your power as head of a bank to screw over a lot of other real people who trusted you.
There still seems to be a great deal of disconnect that just because the person on the other end is represented by a virtual avatar that they aren't actually another person.