Massive Bank Fraud In EVE Online

djconrad was one of several readers to point out the latest major scandal in EVE Online, the space MMO notable for its large, player-driven economy and the entertaining stories it often generates. A player named Ricdic, chairman of a large in-game bank, decided to embezzle roughly 200 billion ISK (the game's currency). Ricdic exchanged the ISK for about $5,000 to pay off real-life debts. Massively has an in-depth write-up about how the theft affects the game and its players. Since the scandal became public, there's been a run on the virtual bank, and its executives are doing what they can to reassure people that it will continue to exist. Ricdic was banned, not for the embezzlement, but for trading 200 billion ISK for real currency, which is forbidden by EVE's EULA.

Re:Just you wait...

[gringofrijolero]

Both. He works for Goldman Sachs...

Re:Good advert for Eve...

[tibman]

Aye, i get tired of boarding trade vessels and ransoming the crew's lives for cash to pay off my debts. I do enough of that in the real world!

Re:Maybe these companies will wake up some day

[longacre]

There are already games that let you do that. They're called NYSE, NASDAQ and FOREX.

Re:Interesting and Boring at the Same Time

[QuantumG]

I achieved my goal of not playing it anymore. I didn't achieve my goal of figuring out why I wanted to play it in the first place.

Obvious....

[raehl]

What I'm always struck by is that if you're capable of finagling all these things in the game, what's stopping you from doing it in real life?

Body odor.

Re:Maybe these companies will wake up some day

[Opportunist]

Yeah, but their graphics sure sucks and blows at the same time. At best you get some vector graphics... pfff, get with the times, morons!

'sides, last time I went for PvP I got pummeled by GMs and locked outta the server. Effing carebears.

Re:Interesting and Boring at the Same Time

[DrXym]

This learning curve [wordpress.com] may explain why EVE is so intimidating / boring.

Anyway, once you get into it its actually a great game. Perhaps you have to have liked playing Elite back in the day to appreciate it. It's a massively online version Elite. Aside from all fighting you also get the politicking, scams, crimes and so forth that make the game world hugely dynamic.

Re:Slow news day?

[Opportunist]

Yes, we already established that it's a simulation of real life economy.

Banning is a reward

[Organic Brain Damage]

Banning Ricdic for making $5,000 in real money from the game will probably result in him making more real money, from real work, in the real world. He might even meet a real girl and have a real relationship and real children. Hardly seems like much of a punishment, if you ask me. If the developers of EVE wanted to punish Ricdic, they'd have given him two more accounts....for free.

Re:Banning is a reward

[darpo]

Married with children not a punishment? Come on, now...