Neowin.net - 'Virtual theft' leads to arrest

'Virtual theft' leads to arrest

Posted by mlauzon76 on 14 November 2007 - 20:37 · 9 comments & 4261 views

A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website. The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money. Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website's owners. The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms. A spokesman for Sulake, the company that operates Habbo Hotel, said: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites.

"In 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. "We have had much of this scamming going on in many countries but this is the first case where the police have taken legal action." Habbo users can create their own characters, decorate their own rooms and play a number of games, paying with Habbo Credits, which they have to buy with real cash. "It is a theft because the furniture is paid for with real money. But the only way to be a thief in Habbo is to get people's usernames and passwords and then log in and take the furniture.

View: Full Story @ BBC NEWS

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#1 Posted by nemo on 14 Nov 2007 - 20:40: how lame.

(2 replies) #2 Posted by +Dakkaroth on 14 Nov 2007 - 20:48: What's lamer than stealing online furniture: buying online furniture...

#3 Posted by shakey on 14 Nov 2007 - 21:08: who are the tards who keep giving out their information to these people??? i need to meet these people. cant be too hard to get their SSN and PIN lol.

#4 Posted by Bawx on 14 Nov 2007 - 21:19: Lol, I use to be around these crowds. Habbo and Coke Music. I scammed, I know scammers and kids that steal virtual stuff. It's kind of fun actually.

#5 Posted by X'tyfe on 14 Nov 2007 - 21:37: the world has gone to hell when something like this becomes are a crime

people need to get a life, and steal real things

#6 Posted by Sazz181 on 14 Nov 2007 - 21:48: You know your life is a mess when...

#7 Posted by SkyyPunk on 14 Nov 2007 - 23:05: "here ma'am, here is a replacement sofa"
-"but it's not the same!!"
"well, it is an exact digital copy..."
-"the old one had sentimental value!"
"..."

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