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EVE Online News - Bank Theft Triggers Virtual Bank Run
Posted by Michael Bitton on Jul 06, 2009 | 25 comments in our forums
Reported at CBC News, a 27 year old male that went by the in-game name Ricdic decided to "skim off the top" at his position as head of EBank, one of the largest banks in EVE Online. Ricdic "skimmed off the top" to the tune of 200 billion ISK, or 8 percent of the total funds that the bank had been holding. Word spread quickly in EVE Online, resulting in a virtual bank run.
The story doesn't end there.
Ricdic went on to trade the virtual money for real world cash, using it to pay off medical bills and other expenses. All in all, Ricdic was able to net himself about $5,000 USD.
According to the CBCNews article, Ricdic appears unrepentant of his actions, stating, "If I had to do it again, I probably would've chosen the same path."
Ricdic's actions while in the game world were actually not a violation of the rules. As most players know, the world of EVE Online is rife with such scandals. The problem was the fact he then exchanged the money for real world cash, a big no-no according to CCP Games. This has resulted in a permananet ban from EVE Online for Ricdic.
Get the full story here.
The Game is all about screwing the other guy,I see no difference in what he did and a thousand other players have done to others in this freeforall world,You banned someone that you trained to do exactly what your the most proud of.LOL and because
its real cash.Hell of a time to start growing morals.
banning his account might be a bit...redundant wouldn't it? Maybe a better punishment would be to let him keep the account, but give him a significant negative balance. :P.
I mean, once the finger was pointed at him and the facts came out, would anyone really trust him again? Given the fact you can't really change your name in the game, I don't see how he could really use that character for anything but solo-play and then still with a good measure more risk then the average player.
That's just how I see it though.
EVE's a great game.
Good for him. Paid off medical bills? Hell yeah.
I can see why they banned him, but it's still hilarious.
My kudos to the guy. Heck, it's not like he bought a new car - he paid off medical bills. I wonder if there will emerge an SEC like entity in EVE...
Good going Ricdic! Good moves. :)
It's impressive the number of people willing to pay shitloads of real money on virtual currency.
MMO developers should just go on and intermediate these transfers, pretty much like Second Life. At least this way I'll be able to legally make a living out of games I enjoy ;)
Let me get this straight.
He paid off bills and now, since he's banned, has even 1 less monthly bill? And if he really wants to, he can just start fresh.
So, heh. I see some losers in this situation, but it sure as hell ain't him.
CCP already does with the isk = timecard. Which makes people buying isk from this guy and now all of them with a negative balance ( since CCP will track every transaction he made ) so much funnier.
I'll probably do it too if in the same situation.
Its fine to dteal in game, but once he exchanged the virtual money for real notes it became a crime. I hope he gets arrested for this.
CCP already does with the isk = timecard. Which makes people buying isk from this guy and now all of them with a negative balance ( since CCP will track every transaction he made ) so much funnier.
I'm not talking about Real Money -> Virtual Currency convertion which EVE already features, I'm talking the other way around.
There is no law in the US (or anywhere else apart from China) which makes it illegal to sell ingame currency for real money. An End User Agreement by a company such as CCP or Blizzard or SOE is not a piece of legislation set by politicians, it only governs how the users interact within their games and if they break it then they accept that CCP/Blizzard/SOE can terminate their account without worrying about lawsuits or legal threats. He didn't break any laws and therefore can't get arrested for it. He broke the terms set by CCP so they have the right to ban his account.
If I was in his position and needed an extra 5k for medical bills I would probably do the same. Real life always comes first.
First off, giving a stranger money in Eve and expecting it back is probably one of the dumbest things I can think of. Unless you personally know the person.
Not as if it won't happen again. But you can bet those fools that gave him that $5000 are now sitting in Eve with huge negative balances! Now those idiots are to be fully laughed at.
Actually UELAs are binding contracts and in North America and Europe there are acutally laws that state that if you buy a software product, open the shrink wrap/break the seal you have agreed to the Eula without even being able to see it.
Also like all contract law you can face civil proceedings including everything from being sued to fined and in some rare instances even have the hardware involved siezed and auctioned off which can include a gaming rig and all perhipherals and associated software not neccisary for employment.
Also there are laws already inplace that were intended for other things like protecting intelectual property and not interfearing with the distribution of copyrighted materials, and depending whrere you are, virtual objects and currency qualify.
This is so not report worthy I have been in many battles where more then 200 billion isk was destroyed one one side only. And I have witnessed corp and alliance thefts with more then 500 billion assets stolen (only 3 times but still enough). Only reason why this is reported is because this guy sold it for real cash. Ruskies do it all the time, in much greater ammounts so why is this so important?
Its not "important" its just news worthy because its a bank where its client's using the service purly based on trust. that trust has been betrayed.
Dont know if you've switched on the news latley but anything to do with banking makes the news.
Besides, I rekon this gives Eve a huge amount of free publicity.
I don't think ANY game is all about "screwing" the other guy.
This game decided to get f****d by allowing the real world/ game transfer.
"Screwing" the other guy is a personal choice...and a weak one at that...
EVE players actually used this "service"? Really?
I don't think I ever ran into a single person in this game that wasn't suitably paranoid!
Good for him, and LOL at the guys who bought ISK from him, they're no doubt banned or broke by now.
Arrested? Hhmmmm I you had babys, and they were hungry, would you steal a loaf of bread to feed them? Look at what goverments do on a daily basis.... (meant for Cristina1 )
Over the years its been one isk gank after another allways brutal usually funny.
Actually if the right people notice the story, he may well face real world criminal proceedings: That money was undoubtably "income" and $5000 in unreported income is enough to make you face stiff penalties at the minimum.
WhyTF are we seeing another thread about this???? Its old news. Violate the EULA get banned that simple. rip off your friends in game......don't have friends anymore! simple as that. he got a life time ban.
EvE is and will be a giant gank fest if its not isk its loot. I can not count how many times I have seen people get ganked in one way or another....flyin afk in low sec space only to lose everything they owned or transporting corp loot to get ganked and lose everything. its a game people and you are not your ship or corp. so get over it
EULAs are not binding contracts of any kind. agreeing to them, does not hold you accountable for anything, if you break them. there are laws for copyrighted materials, and intelectual properties to some extent as well. but the EULA are jokes, have you sat thru and actually read one before? god i wish i could remember which company has it in there EULA, but they say you owe them your firstborn. Epic had a pretty funny EULA for some of there unreal games. the EULAs can't be leagally binding, as there is no actual proof that you as an individual agreed to it. you don't sign your name, and no one witness' it, therefore, can't be binding. then there is the whole minor issue to consider, how do you legally bind a 14 year old to a contract? the only thing they do is allow a company to terminate your access to their product, for breaking their rules. the only legal ramifications you can face, are for the pirated software, and like crimes, that are illeagal regardless of the EULA to begin with.
EULA are not contracts between you and the game company, they are an agreement between you and that company. It doesn't fall under contractual law.
EULA are not contracts between you and the game company, they are an agreement between you and that company. It doesn't fall under contractual law.
Laws >>>> EULA. Always and everywhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_license_agreement
http://pcworld.about.com/news/Apr092001id46764.htm
http://www.hcplive.com/mdnglive/articles/Tech_Talk_Contract_Never_Read