Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[FBI raids University of Michigan apartment over possible WoW fraud]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/fbi-raid-university-of-michigan-apartment-over-possible-wow-frau/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/fbi-raid-university-of-michigan-apartment-over-possible-wow-frau/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/14/fbi-raid-university-of-michigan-apartment-over-possible-wow-frau/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

A University of Michigan student apartment became the focus of a recent investigation by the FBI, which conducted a raid on March 30th over "potentially fraudulent sales or purchases of virtual currency that people use to advance in the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft."

While the FBI did not make any arrests, it did confiscate several items, including computers, video game equipment, and credit cards. The Bureau is checking out whether one or both of the students were involved in a fraudulent scheme to buy or sell virtual gold, and the agency is looking for online transaction records with various online banks and websites.

The two students who share the apartment claim that they do not play WoW and are confident that they are innocent. One of the unnamed students commented: "They thought we were involved in some kind of fraud. I'm pretty sure they have the wrong people, but they took all my stuff."

MassivelyFBI raids University of Michigan apartment over possible WoW fraud originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ann-arborfbifederal-bureau-of-investigationsfraudgold-buyinggold-farminggold-sellingillegalmichiganraidrmtuniversity-of-michiganuniversity-towersvirtual-currencyvirtual-goldworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Perpetuum reels from robot insurance fraud]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/14/perpetuum-reels-from-robot-insurance-fraud/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/14/perpetuum-reels-from-robot-insurance-fraud/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/14/perpetuum-reels-from-robot-insurance-fraud/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

In an MMO so dependent on its economy, it's crucial to keep a tight rein on the flow of money so that the whole mechanism doesn't spin out of control. Unfortunately, it appears this started to happen in the relatively new Perpetuum when a number of profiteers began to unbalance the economy by manipulating the market on insured robots.

According to a Perpetuum dev blog, the fraud came about when players figured out how to game the insurance system. The game's robots are insured not according to a fixed amount, but in relation to the global market average. Developer "Zoom" explains what happened next: "Due to some additional flaws in the mechanism, with good skills and good facilities it became very profitable to manufacture robots with the sole purpose of insuring them and blowing them up as soon as they roll out of the factory."

While the dev team initially sanctioned the action as part of a free market economy, this post represents a changed stance toward such practices. Players have written to Massively telling of how their wallets were sucked completely dry by the company after months of what they assumed to be legitimate market techniques.

The team retrieved over a billion NIC (Perpetuum's currency) from players and called out a number of corporations involved in these actions. Ultimately, the team elected not to ban any of the associated parties for the time being. Instead, all players should be seeing a modified version of this insurance feature within the week.

[Thanks for all the tips sent in on this one!]

MassivelyPerpetuum reels from robot insurance fraud originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dev-blogdev-frauddev-zoomeconomyexploitfraudglobal-market-averagehaxinsurance-fraudmarketmarket-averagenicperpetuumperpetuum-dev-blogperpetuum-onlinerobot-insurance-fraudrobot-mathscamzoomMon, 14 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Jagex gets RuneScape fraudster arrested in the UK]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/29/jagex-gets-runescape-fraudster-arrested-in-the-uk/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/29/jagex-gets-runescape-fraudster-arrested-in-the-uk/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/29/jagex-gets-runescape-fraudster-arrested-in-the-uk/#commentsFiled under: , ,


For quite some time now cheating in an MMO generally only carried with it the repercussion of a virtual slap on the hand. Fake someone out of an item or two, and a GM might intervene, take the stuff and suspend your account. Do something against the terms of service and generally speaking, one might get an account ban. For many farmers and internet fraudsters, this really didn't seem to be much of a deterrent. Just start up a new account and off you go again, taking virtual items, breaking TOS/EULAs, or bilking people for money. Well, that is until now.

According to CasualGaming.biz Jagex Games Studio, not content to simply run the cheaters out of RuneScape, actually managed to successfully work with the Police Central e-Crime Unit in the UK to run down an online thief in the real world. The 23-year-old man was reportedly tied to a recent rash of account phishing scams according to an investigation, for which he was arrested. Furthermore, Jagex says that not only are they working with the PCeU overseas, but also with the FBI in the United States. Whether or not other MMO companies will follow this lead and start to chase down the Internet fraudsters plaguing their games for prosecution remains to be seen, but it's definitely worth reading the entire story for Jagex's side of things.

[Via PlayNoEvil]

MassivelyJagex gets RuneScape fraudster arrested in the UK originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>arrestfbifraudinternet-fraudjagexjagex-games-studiolawlegalPCeUpolice-e-crime-cyber-unitrunescapeSun, 29 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Paul Barnett predicts the decline of future asset-heavy MMOs]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/26/paul-barnett-predicts-the-decline-of-asset-heavy-mmos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/26/paul-barnett-predicts-the-decline-of-asset-heavy-mmos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/26/paul-barnett-predicts-the-decline-of-asset-heavy-mmos/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mythic Entertainment's Creative Director for Warhammer Online, Paul Barnett, was recently interviewed by Ablegamers and had some interesting things to say about the current state and future of online gaming and asset-heavy MMOs.

To illustrate why he thinks online games are becoming much more mainstream, Paul uses a personal and generational example. His mother is hesitant to buy anything on credit because her generation believes credit is evil. Paul himself is wary of online purchases because of the potential for fraud and identity theft. His son, however, believes there is little difference between buying something online and buying something from the corner store.

He also talks about the iPhone generation and how he believes asset-light games that provide shorter bursts of fun are going to have the widest appeal moving forward because they're cheap, mobile, entertaining, and disposable.

Established asset-heavy games may not see a huge initial decline, but he does predict a decline in the start-up of these types of games because they are extremely costly and require large teams to make. They are also traditionally geared more toward a heavy investment of player time. If asset-heavy games are to continue successfully, Paul believes they'll have to allow for more flexible "time control."

[Via: When casual can get too casual]

MassivelyPaul Barnett predicts the decline of future asset-heavy MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 May 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>credit-cardfraudfutureiphonemythic-entertainmentonline-gamingopinionpaul-barnettwarwarhammer-onlineTue, 26 May 2009 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Man in the box]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/19/man-in-the-box/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/19/man-in-the-box/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/19/man-in-the-box/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

People usually play MMOGs as a way to escape real life. Well, according to The Guardian, real life may just be trying to push its way into MMOGs. Several EU government bodies recently came together and released a report titled, Virtual Worlds, Real Money: Security and Privacy in Massively Multi-Player Online Games and Social and Corporate Virtual Worlds. Sound heavy? It is.

It seems the impetus for creating this agency position paper was that "2007 was the year of online gaming fraud." The executive summary states that malware targeting MMOGs increased by 145% and over 30,000 new programs emerged with the aim to gain access to accounts and steal virtual goods to sell for real money. The report describes 14 key risks in detail, including avatar identity theft/identity fraud, harassment, problems with online dispute resolution, and security risks for minors just to name a few. The agency also makes 12 recommendations to governments and MMOG developers to address these risks.

It seems inevitable that one day we'll have Big Brother looking over our shoulders as we peck away at our keyboards pwning n00bs. It also raises a couple big questions. How far will they go? Will it improve things or make them worse? Time will tell.

MassivelyMan in the box originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>eufraudgovernmentmoneyprivacysecurityThu, 19 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[SOE hires crime fighting gnomes to fend off credit card worms]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/12/soe-hires-crime-fighting-gnomes-to-fend-off-credit-card-worms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/12/soe-hires-crime-fighting-gnomes-to-fend-off-credit-card-worms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/12/soe-hires-crime-fighting-gnomes-to-fend-off-credit-card-worms/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Online credit card fraud is big business and even MMORPGs aren't safe from it's far reach. We recently had a chance to sit down with Executive Director of Global Customer Service, Brad Wilcox, and discuss how SOE is dealing with gold selling and power-leveling services for their games. They are taking this war so seriously that they have put all transactional business under keen gnomish scrutiny.

Can you tell us how this fraud prevention task force came to be?

Brad Wilcox: Since the inception of EQ1, we always had components of a fraud prevention team. These were game masters and individuals tasked with looking at the game economy and making sure that people weren't exploiting. Since September 2007, we started to see a big increase in fraudulent activity in regards to stolen credit cards. That is when it was decided to put a few more resources specifically related to the fraud that was happening with accounts and subs being created with these stolen credit cards. That's when we formed what we call the NUGIT team, which stands for Norrathian Underground Gnome Investigation Team. As you can tell by the name, our employees enjoy having as much fun on the back end as we do on the front end of these games

Continue reading SOE hires crime fighting gnomes to fend off credit card worms

MassivelySOE hires crime fighting gnomes to fend off credit card worms originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bottersbrad-wilcoxfarmersfraudgold-sellingmulespower-levelingrmtsoespammersThu, 12 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Japan's online games industry steps up security]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/japans-online-games-industry-steps-up-security/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The potential for having a hacked game account clearly goes hand in hand with online games, regardless of which country you're in. Japan is taking aim at this particular issue through a rather significant partnership with Visa International, reports Nicholas Aaron Khoo for CNET Asia.

The Japan Online Game Association (JOGA) has pushed for the industry-wide adoption of Verified by Visa by year's end. Verified by Visa uses SSL encryption as part of its Three-Domain (3-D) Secure platform, and it's hoped that establishing this industry standard will reduce the frequency of stolen accounts. Khoo writes, "According to JOGA, Verified by Visa has already been implemented by over 60 percent of online gaming companies in Japan -- the highest among any online retail and service provider industry categories." You can check out the full story in Khoo's "Peace of mind for Japanese gamers?" as part of his Geekonomics column at CNET Asia.

[Via PlayNoEvil]

MassivelyJapan's online games industry steps up security originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>account-securityasiacnetcnet-asiafraudhackhacked-accountjapanjapanese-onine-game-associationjogammo-industrynicholas-aaron-khoosslverified-by-visavisavisa-internationalWed, 04 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Fraud and its effects on the MMO industry]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/fraud-and-its-effects-on-the-mmo-industry/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/fraud-and-its-effects-on-the-mmo-industry/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/fraud-and-its-effects-on-the-mmo-industry/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

As the number of people embracing MMOs has increased exponentially over the years, so too has the frequency and scale of fraud related to these games and credit card transactions. Chargebacks resulting from fraudulent credit activity are a growing problem for MMO publishers. Gamasutra has run an enlightening Q&A with Gene Hoffman, Chairman and CEO of Vindicia, a billing and fraud management company with no small amount of expertise in the MMO arena. The interview discussed the ramifications of chargebacks for MMO publishers, such as Blizzard, which sheds some light on the fact that having the dominant industry marketshare comes with a few downsides as well.

While not commenting about Blizzard specifically, Hoffman says, "We have noticed across all our gaming clients when it comes to fraud is that the 1% chargeback rate is really a marketing budget. Having your chargebacks too low often means you aren't being aggressive enough on the customer acquisition side." Have a look at Gamasutra's talk with Hoffman, a discussion which ranges from in-game theft to hybrid subscription/micro-transaction business models.

MassivelyFraud and its effects on the MMO industry originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardbusiness-modelschargebackeconomyfraudfraudulentgamasutragene-hoffmaninterviewsmmommo-industryscamtheftthiefvindiciaFri, 15 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Online calls RMT evil]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/09/eve-online-calls-rmt-evil/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/09/eve-online-calls-rmt-evil/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/09/eve-online-calls-rmt-evil/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

GM Grimmi of EVE Online comes out strong against RMT in an official post called 'Real money trading is bad, mkay?' In no uncertain terms, RMT activities are said to be linked to keyloggers, phishing sites, and hacking attempts, and lead to real-world illegal activities like fraud and theft. Grimmi then goes on to say that there is a service available to players who want more ISK that is not only legitimate, but also helps both the game economy and supports other players: the Secure ETC Trading system.

From the post: 'When you buy an ETC and then sell it for ISK via the Secure ETC Trading System you are directly contributing to the growth of EVE as the code will be applied to an account and someone will be using it to play. Some players do not have the means to pay for their subscriptions with credit cards or similar and the Secure ETC Trading System helps them pay and play. The economics are quite different as well since wealth is redistributed between active members of the community rather than injected into the game.' This is a much more creative approach to fighting RMT activity than simple banning of accounts (though that happens as well). Bravo, EVE, slam evil!

MassivelyEVE Online calls RMT evil originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>account-hackingeconomicseve-onlinefraudgm-grimmiiskkeyloggersmkaymr-mackeyphishingreal-money-tradingrmtsecure-etc-tradingtheftWed, 09 Apr 2008 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Iovation stops 0.365% of transactions]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/iovation-stops-0-365-of-transactions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/iovation-stops-0-365-of-transactions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/iovation-stops-0-365-of-transactions/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Iovation, a company that markets anti-fraud software to online game operators (and online dating sites) claims to have blocked over ten thousand fraudulent transactions per day out of a round-figure-billion over a year. They don't actually say how many of those billion transactions were actually fraudulent, so we must smilingly acknowledge that while their quoted figures contain some attractive round numbers, they don't actually provide any useful information on their actual success rate.

Iovation's patented anti-fraud system (United States Patent 20080040802) basically involves a small piece of software dropped onto a user's machine that provides a unique system fingerprint or device identifier that can be queried alongside transactions. Unfortunately, in our experience (Linden Lab used to use essentially this same sort of system for severe user bans for years, but ultimately had to discontinue it) this kind of system is relatively easily circumvented by the determined or knowledgeable (at least without the most egregious rootkitting), and also only prevents subsequent frauds, after an initial fraud is detected by other means.

Nonetheless, with an increasing focus in the online gaming world towards non-subscription-based transaction models, fraud prevention/reduction is occupying increasingly large amounts of attention from MMO/VW operators and developers who are looking for solutions.

[via PlayNoEvil]

MassivelyIovation stops 0.365% of transactions originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>business-modelseconomyfraudiovationlinden-labmmo-industryvirtual-worldsTue, 11 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Linden Lab responds on fraudulent funds griefing]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/04/linden-lab-responds-on-fraudulent-funds-griefing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/04/linden-lab-responds-on-fraudulent-funds-griefing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/04/linden-lab-responds-on-fraudulent-funds-griefing/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In response to our piece on the both speculative and historical use of fraudulent funds transfer in Second Life as a griefing tactic, Peter Gray of Linden Lab's PR agency, LewisPR sent us an unsolicited statement yesterday.

In it Gray begins, "The policy stated at http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/api/risk seems to have caused some confusion. .... The policy stated at the above webpage is directed at operators of Linden dollar exchanges; if Linden Lab identifies that the operators of these exchanges have PURPOSEFULLY purchased fraudulent L$, Linden Lab may recoup 150% of the amount. The fine mentioned on this page is a potential repercussion of an exchange operator purchasing fraudulent L$ where Linden Lab has identified an intent to collude in fraudulent behavior. To date, this fine has never been levied."

Which is all very well - but actually has nothing at all to do with what we are talking about.

Continue reading Linden Lab responds on fraudulent funds griefing

MassivelyLinden Lab responds on fraudulent funds griefing originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chmarr-walcotteconomyfraudlewisprlinden-dollarslinden-labnexxus-ambassadorpeter-graysecond-lifeFri, 04 Jan 2008 14:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Linden Lab warns of fraudulent currency exchanges]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/linden-lab-warns-of-fraudulent-currency-exchanges/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/linden-lab-warns-of-fraudulent-currency-exchanges/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/02/linden-lab-warns-of-fraudulent-currency-exchanges/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Linden Lab today have a lengthy set of warnings about possibly fraudulent third-party exchanges for the purchase of Linden Dollars for Second Life . In it are listed a number of common-sense precautions and warnings. However there are two particularly that we think are worth comment.

Firstly, there's this "You therefore purchase these third party L$ at your own risk: if they are discovered to be fraudulent - in effect phony - we will recoup them from your account." - well, that goes just a bit further than you might be expecting.

Continue reading Linden Lab warns of fraudulent currency exchanges

MassivelyLinden Lab warns of fraudulent currency exchanges originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyfraudlinden-dollarslinden-labsecond-lifeWed, 02 Jan 2008 22:30:00 EST<![CDATA[LNLBT back in business in Second Life]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lnlbt-back-in-business-in-second-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lnlbt-back-in-business-in-second-life/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/27/lnlbt-back-in-business-in-second-life/#commentsFiled under: , ,

MoneyThe story we ran about someone brute-force hacking several Second Life banks has a happy resolution, at least for one of the banks: LNLBT is back in business, and their insurance is back in force with The Rock as well. SL Investor's Bank is still insured, and the other three affected banks were never insured.

LNLBT are distributing new ATMs and have new security measures in place - hopefully properly instituted this time. It is nice to see a financial story in Second Life with a happy ending though.

Although that article speculated about the possibility of police involvement due to fraud, it appears from an article in the Second Life Herald that WSE may be the first organisation to face legal investigations following the way they handled defaulting on a payment to Midas Bank and then foreclosing on their trading operations, which we reported at the start of the month.

MassivelyLNLBT back in business in Second Life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>fraudLNLBTMidas-BankSecond-LifeThe-RockWSETue, 27 Nov 2007 23:01:00 EST