Online Gaming and Fraud in Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)

The argument essay “Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing” by Alex Weiss, starts off by him revealing the story of the Dutch Supreme Court that is convicting a 13-year old teenager of virtually stealing another players amulet and shield. Alex then proceeds to elucidate “disappointing teenage years” while participating in massively multiplayer online video games as a thief. He then starts to discuss the ethics and rules of frequent massive multiplayer online games and brings up evidence on how it is not against the policy of

Alex Weiss wrote, “Should Gamers Be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing” which compares virtual laws to real life laws. The thesis of his argument is “video games are not work or investments for which people should be compensated; they are escapism” (Weiss). He is saying that what happens in a video game should stay in a video game. It should have no correlation to the outside world. One an example he gives to support his thesis is,” These projects may seem foolish to those outside of the gaming world but they represent a great a deal to their creators. And these hopes and dreams can be destroyed rapidly by another player who just wan to be a jerk” (Weiss 732). He says right there that a player could spend months on making something when in just

Cybercrime has experienced significant progress during recent years, as its advance is directly proportional with the advance of technology. In spite of the fact that the authorities devise new and better strategies to fight cybercrime, the fact that the number of people online is constantly increasing means that cybercrimes occur even more frequently. Dishonest people who seek opportunities have discovered how the internet stands as a perfect environment for them to commit crimes by taking as little risks as possible. Computer fraud generates a series of benefits for the person committing it, as he or she can either profit financially from the enterprise or can simply alter files in order for his or her image to be positively affected. Identity theft is a major form of cybercrime and it is essential for society to acknowledge the gravity of the matter in order to be able to effectively fight against criminals using it.

 In 2012, the Dutch Supreme Court convicted a teenager of “virtual theft.” The defendant stole two items within the then-popular game Runescape. Although the defendant’s attorney pointed out the neither items even existed or had any real economic value, the court ruled that the time spent by the victim in the acquisition of these items within the game actually gave them economic value. The author gives examples of similar behavior being not only allowed, but accepted within older, similar games. The author argues that gamers should not be prosecuted for theft within games, assuming the stolen “object” has no economic value, and that cases like this one “[make] no sense to [him].”

Many online gamers will pay for virtual items with real money. Some people want laws in effect for the real world to protect their rights to their belongings. Theft in the virtual world occurs quite often. In an article titled, “Should Gamers be Prosecuted for Virtual Stealing?” the author Alex Weiss calls out a young teenage boy who is being prosecuted for stealing in a video game. It seems to be a legal blunder that is very straight forward, but becomes a heated debate. It begins with the argument should we prosecute a gamer for stealing via the virtual world? Alex Weiss is correct in saying that prosecution for virtual

Summary: In this article a situation involving two parties is broken down and explained. First there is the victim who claims he was stolen from on a virtual game called runescape. While the other party is the thief who is being charged with theft. The writer states his opinion throughout the piece and makes it very apparent that this is childish. However the victim felt it was enough to take to federal court. The victim claims that the thief stole a amulet and a sword from him in the game. The reason he feels he can take this 13 year old to court is because he invested money in the subscription and also time to obtain the virtual currency to buy these items. The big issue with this case however is the fact that the thief used violent actions with his virtual character to obtain the objects from the owner. The writer goes on to state that it is a virtual game and therefore no crime was committed. This case in the end concluded in court that the thief believes that it was a crime and sentences the 13 year old to 145 hours of community service.

new advances in the electronic technologies during the past decades have administered a new wealth of criminal activity. Software like Computer viruses, malware, software privacy, spam and etc. Technologically savvy artist replicate websites, so when a person's online activities occurs in a virtual world it can be compromised.Many times Cyber intrusions rely on human interaction and it often involves tricking people into breaking security procedures.

Online gaming is big business these days, with thousands of people connected to each other every

There are many threats that CanGo can face by joining online gaming. Cyber security, FCC regulations, and Hardware and software issues are a few that must be addressed. According to Computer Weekly Top Five Threats, security can be grouped in three layers. The first layer is an intrusion prevention system that monitors user traffic. The second layer is the installation of a security management system that will provide anti-virus for the virus and protect against back door entry. The third layer being a thorough assessment of which systems are most open to cyber-attacks. New technologies and ensuring hardware and software can meet the ever changing needs of online gaming will be necessary so that products and services do not become obsolete.

The Australian Competition and Commission v Vassallo (2009) case depicts the affects of cyber crime on individuals involved. Advances in technology have enabled new ways to commit fraud online. Criminals are using new and complex techniques to commit fraud which often result in financial loss towards individuals. The two respondents in the case, Leanne Rita Vassallo and Aaron David Smith had sold medical eBooks through the internet. The eBooks claimed to provide medical cures and treatments for various health problems such as Lyme disease, asthma, herpes and prostate cancer. However, expert evidence concluded that the cures offered no therapeutic treatments. The two respondents had profited financially from the fraudulent eBooks and had sold the eBooks to more than 60, 000 customers worldwide. The online fraud was operated through several websites which were able to be accessed internationally. Despite rapid advancements in technology, legislation has proved to be effective in regulating cyber crime.

The internet has brought upon a new revolution of global interconnection where contacting someone on the other side of the world is just a click away, but with this international phenomenon comes an increased susceptibility with unfamiliar technology. Internet crime is compiled of all non-physical crime with the aid of a computer. Although broad in definition internet crimes are largely composed of acts such as cyber fraud, ‘phishing’ (username and password hacking), cyber stalking and hacking. Internet crime does not pose an overwhelming issue in society in terms of its

Back in 1996, the explosion of online casino gambling swept the world. The United States had been a large part of this, and many gamblers had turned to online casinos for all of their gaming. For many years, these casinos continued to be played unabated. Unfortunately, back in 2006, legislation was passed that made it slightly difficult for online casinos to continue to operate. This legislation, sneaked in by piggyback through the Safe Port Act, would be named the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it became a thorn in the side of the online gambler, the online casino, and all payment processors there in.

The agencies employed by governments to police the web in order to protect the vulnerable have seen an increase in child pornography and online fraud. The speed at which information can be distributed and the number of people that can be reached attracts those that are intent on causing harm. The term “cybercrime” is becoming more widely used. The financial gains that can be made and the anonymity the internet can provide, make the virtual world of cyberspace a haven for criminals. Although the internet has huge benefits for information gathering and social networking, in the wrong hands it can cause harm to the vulnerable and criminals are able to vanish into the underground with the use of false identities that are hard to track online.

Development in technology brings many things that people don't have many years back. One of these things is online gaming that is provided by the internet.

For thousands of years, mankind has enjoyed spending money on games of chance. Today this has developed into a multi-billion dollar worldwide phenomenon- the gambling industry.