A Chinese exchange student living in Japan who used a hacking program in Lineage II to instantly beat opponents and steal their items has been arrested.The student was part of a group who set up a scam exchanging the items for game credits, which were then placed up for auction on the Internet, earning them real currency.
According to Gamespot, the items sell for between $21 and $73, suggesting this was a nice little earner before the police moved in to close the group down:
The stolen credits and weapons are put up for auction on the Internet and often go for high prices. The successful bidder deposits money into a designated account, and when payment has been confirmed, their characters meet at a designated time and place within the game and the items are transferred.
Officials at Internet Association Japan, estimate the market for game credits and items to range between 5 billion and 10 billion yen. On one site, single items are traded for between 2,300 and 8,000 yen each.
"As long as there are people willing to buy items over the Internet, the abuse won't stop," said Akio Kokubu, vice president of the association.
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