Earlier this year, Lawrence resident Carissa Hill called the police.
She had been swindled out of money by an online scam artist who had assumed someone else's identity. But the money that Hill lost wasn't in U.S. dollars. They were Linden dollars, the currency used in an online, computerized world called "Second Life."
Police were puzzled.
"I would say this is a unique report," said Kim Murphree, a Lawrence Police Department spokeswoman. "This may happen all the time, but do people bring it to the attention of the police department? No."
The report offered a glimpse into a world that is growing more elaborate and sophisticated by the day. It's a world of virtual online communities, where people sitting at computer screens interact with other people from around the world in a realistic, 3-D setting.
Think Hill's crime report sounds frivolous? Consider that the virtual money she lost could have been traded on an online currency exchange for $180 in cold cash. Hill's computerized alter ego, "Leia Lulu," is a real estate developer who earns real-life money for renting and selling land that exists only in pixels and in people's imaginations.
Asked in an online chat what she does in real life, Hill typed the following response: "Well, hon, my 'Second Life' is my real life."
Dwarves, not nightclubs
Role playing is nothing new as any theater fan can tell you. But in recent years, improvements in computer graphics and Internet technology have made it easier to become someone else - or at least, to appear to be someone else - and to interact with others in a disembodied world.
Video
Journal-World reporter Eric Weslander explores the online fascination of virtual worlds. Enlarge video
The games can be absorbing and even addictive.
Kansas University student Dante Lammoglia, 20, is one of an estimated 6.5 million users of "World of Warcraft," an online fantasy game in which players form teams - or guilds - and work together to wage battles. He spends at least six hours per day online, where one of his alter egos is a dwarf named Sergeant Falaffel who has a pet lion.
For Lammoglia, pursuing a new weapon, a new piece of armor, or a successful battle with members of his "guild" is more important than hitting the bar scene.
"There's a lot of people that are in my guild that I consider myself really good friends with, and I've never met them in real life," he said. "If I enjoyed going out, getting drunk and clubbing and stuff more, I would probably play a lot less."
'Second Life'
Some people call them massively multiplayer online games, or MMOGs, although many of the 1.2 million users of "Second Life" bristle at the suggestion that what they're doing is a game.
"Second Life," launched in 2003, is the brainchild of Linden Lab, a San Francisco-based team of developers with expertise in physics, 3-D graphics and networking. It's described on the company's Web site as "a 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents."
Much of the buzz surrounding the company comes from the fact that participants can own what they create inside the world, and can benefit from it by selling it or trading it with others. Linden dollars can be bought and exchanged for U.S. dollars using a credit card.
Through their online personae, known as "avatars," residents design and buy clothing. They build shopping malls where they charge rent for a storefront. They build night clubs, where they put out tip jars and offer virtual-money prizes for dance contests.
It also can be a venue for promoting a real-world business or idea. Reuters news service, for example, last month opened a virtual "news bureau" there. A staff reporter regularly holds "office hours" via his online persona, and the company posts real-life news feeds on billboards. Wired magazine also has built a headquarters there.
Perhaps the best example of a successful "Second Life" crossover is New Zealand software developer Nathan Keir. His "Second Life" alter ego, Kermitt Quick, created a game there called "Tringo" that combines elements of Tetris and Bingo. The game is now being sold in the real world for use on Nintendo's Game Boy.
The equivalent of more than $1 million in U.S. dollars changes hands there each day, and last month, a congressional committee said it was looking at whether those transactions should be taxed.
Is this absurd?
Nancy Baym, an associate professor of communication studies at Kansas University, said that despite the hype, "Second Life" isn't that different from other forms of online communication that are far more prevalent, such as e-mail or instant messaging.
"Second Life" just hit a million users. In the big picture, it's pretty low, compared to, say, MySpace, which has about a 100 million users," Baym said.
But isn't it absurd to think that something created in "virtual reality" - for example, a poster to hang on the wall of a virtual apartment - could have a value in real life? Baym says, "No."
"We're in an information economy, and it's not that big of a step from telecommuting to work and never being physically present in the home office," she said. "If you think that people are making a living trading stock via the Internet, it's not that big of a leap to go into providing PR services via 'Second Life'... Things like Web design and public relations and consulting and education, all of those things can go on in that kind of a forum."
Baym doesn't believe in a division between "real life," on the one hand, and "virtual life," on the other.
"It's always been true that what happens offline and what happens online interconnect," she said.
Cold case
Hill lost her Linden dollars in July, after another player approached her online and offered to buy them from her for what was then the current exchange rate: $180 in U.S. dollars. (Today, with fluctuating exchange rates, they would be worth about $195.) She transferred the virtual money to him through the game's software, but it turned out that he had used someone else's identity for the PayPal transaction to send her the $180, and she never collected the money.
Hill says she went to Lawrence police not because of the lost Linden, but because she thought she had enough information to pursue an identity-theft charge against the suspect. At one point, he had called her home, so she thought phone records might help yield a clue to the person's identity.
Police, unsure of how to classify the report, listed it as an "informational" report that doesn't fit within a specific criminal statute.
"I called 'Second Life' and the Linden Lab, and they immediately banned the character, and that's all that they can do," Hill said.
- Staff writer Eric Weslander can be reached at 832-7146.
Comments
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xenophonschild (anonymous) says…
We steal oil from Venezuela for this?
You people need to get a life. Seriously. Fantasy is fine, but reality is best.
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
Actually, this is opening the door of a new concept of virtual property. In fact, the IRS is actually working on charging taxes for this concept.
Earned is earned, work is work, fantasy or not. I play World of Warcraft (Like anyone is really suprised to hear this) and we have a plague of people that will try every way to steal accounts, sell all their stuff they can, and transfer all the "in game" currency to a person or persons that has gone to a website and paid them money to get them gold. This may seem rather silly, but when you consider that because it is an online game, that there is no 'save game', and that some people have had these characters for years. With all the work and such that needs to be poured into it, the biggest impact is that all that work is gone, and will take hundreds of hours of work.
Think of it this way. You play a game for a week, working hard at having fun to get your game where you like it, then I sneak in and delete it in the middle of the night, consistantly. Add to this that you have to pay a monthly fee for all this, and it really starts adding up.
I agree, fantasy is fine, but the entire online thing is changing the way people have to look at things.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
Sounds like a case more suited to the fantasy police.
aeroscout17 (anonymous) says…
Second Life? Holy crap...take the energy, ambition and smarts and apply it to the first life. I think that would make you happier and more succesfull in the long term.
I wish I had six hours a day to do anything besides work ;)
overthemoon (anonymous) says…
neal stephenson's 'snow crash' is a great sci-fi novel that dealt with a dangerous virtual reality on the sci-fi level years ago. good book and it seems not so far fetched after all.
roger_o_thornhill (anonymous) says…
"I wish I had six hours a day to do anything besides work ;)"
Me too!
cms (anonymous) says…
Very interesting from the perspective the world has an entire class of people that take on another persona, interact with people they have never met in person, then earn what can be converted to real money. My mind is going to have to process this concept. I didn't know virtual reality went this far. I thought the only class of people our society didn't know about were the true homebound, either by physical/mental disabilities or economic, uncovered by Katrina.
I am kind of chuckling thinking about old white men in Washington trying to regulate something like a virtual world, where the imaginations of those already involved are wild and far.
Hmmm....
jayhawks71 (anonymous) says…
Hey, how did they get Mo Rocca to pose for that picture?
Jean1183 (anonymous) says…
You have got to be kidding!
Get a "real" life!
Leprechaunking13 (anonymous) says…
hahah i thought that was Mo Rocca too at first
compmd (anonymous) says…
If something along these lines happens to you, go to ic3.gov and file a complaint. Alternatively, contact your local FBI field office. In Carissa's case, since the amount was so small, it is unlikely that the report will receive high priority. In my experience, often one has to be defrauded of many, many thousands of dollars before law enforcement will consider pursuing a case, although with substantial evidence they will investigate.
I wonder if this is the same Carissa Hill I met in the KU Physics and Astronomy department a few years ago. If so, I liked her better when she was carrying an electrodynamics book and knitting during exams.
audvisartist (anonymous) says…
Wow. I can't even begin to think of what to say on a story like this. Some people take those games a little too seriously. Oh well, gotta give it to the programmers. They're making a killing off of these weenies.
compmd (anonymous) says…
Marion,
You are, for the most part, correct about the "when, not if" concept of hacking. However, with the increasing reliability of hardened systems and better coding, the chances of "hacking" a well defended server have decreased over the years. Also, with skilled professionals running the servers, the chances of a break-in are even decreased even further.
The "social engineering" attacks are far more common and have a greater potential for financial gain for the attacker. Just in the past month I've had three different characters from strange parts of the world try to con me into selling one of my cars with the classic "here's a check for more than your asking price, send me the remainder" scam. I've had customers attempt to use eleven stolen credit card numbers to purchase almost $20,000 in goods from the company I work for. Until some real, enforceable laws with real, scary punishments are enacted, this type of crime will continue to flourish.
There are evil people in this world. The Internet allows people to realize their desires very easily. If you were a criminal, which scenario would you prefer:
1) Mug a guy in the street with a gun, take his wallet, get $100, possibly be identified, arrested, and imprisoned.
2) Send out 10 million emails using a zombie botnet to people telling them they have won the lottery and they need to confirm various personal details to postively identify them so they can receive their check. Proceed to steal their identity, then profit. All you need are one or two responses for it to be profitable. All the while, it is nearly impossible for you to be identified.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
Forget "virtual reality" crimes.
The KU police need to arrest Mr. Lammoglia for assault and battery for his heinous attack on our eyes.
Let's round up a posse of moms to hold him down, cut his hair & sideburns, and march him to an optician for some attractive glasses--or better yet, some contact lenses. Who's with me?
I suspect his own mom implored the Witness Protection Plan to move her across the continent and provide her with a new, untraceable identity.
What ignominy it would be to produce a son who so closely resembles the frilly-shirted, powder-blue-suited, pouf-haired geeks who whirled beneath a disco ball at one's prom!
On the other hand, someone who would name her child "Dante" probably loves tempting fate. ;-)
law (anonymous) says…
Why call the cops for this? Seriously.
compmd (anonymous) says…
Because fraud is illegal. Seriously. FTFA: "... it turned out that he had used someone else's identity for the PayPal transaction to send her the $180..."
I certainly hope our friend "law" here isn't an aspiring attorney. If he is, I hope he at least hasn't taken Crim Pro yet.
x96merrill3 (anonymous) says…
I'm a bit concerned with the idea of an "exchange rate" on intellectual property. Doesn't that seem a bit volatile? If there is one hack, there could potentially be millions of "Real Life" dollars lost. Me thinks those in the "Second Life" should be cautious mixing worlds.
LeiaLulu (anonymous) says…
Hi overthemoon, Actually 'Snow Crash' (1992) is noted as the book that inspired Second Life and started out alot like the Metaverse Neal described. Though sl has changed quite a bit.
Eric's article is very well informed, though there is two points I would like to clarify.
1)This sentence is not entirely true. (Besides the mis-speak)
"I called 'Second Life' and the Linden Lab, and they immediately banned the character, and that's all that they can do," Hill said.
Linden Labs knows exactly what he did with the Lindens. He gave them to IGE, where he tried to turn those Lindens into US Dollars. IGE was contacted along with the FBI.
2) I contacted the Lawrence Police Department Only because the fraud called my land line. If the police cared to, they could subpena the phone company and know where the call originated.
And on another note, most people I know in Second Life dont role play. They are who they are, though may appear as a tornado when I say I'm in Kansas. I've come to call sl, "MySpace on steriods". I've formed business relations and friendships with people from all around the world in sl, even an Iraqi, who lives in Jordan, who uploads his art and sells it in-world hoping to gain rl customers.
Also Yes, I am claiming this all on my tax forms. It is my Real Life job atm. I dont spend 6 hours a day 'playing games'; I can spend about 16 hours.
I just cant wait until I can get 'wired in' and become like a gargoyle in 'Snow Crash',
Carissa
P.S. Hi compmd, I actually dont know how to knit; I crochet. ; )
Wheezer (anonymous) says…
Why is there a pic of Mo Rocca downloading pron?
pelliott (anonymous) says…
how convenient, they don't think it is a crime, loss of material by theft that has monetary value. Nice though that our local cops have their head stuck in the fifties. i feel safe. oh yeah, why don't they just say the usual, uh theft, uh, we need to spend our time catching murderers and rapists. What they do is spend time and lots of money to control certain populations and to spear the federal grants on the war on drugs. Where is the war on crime. Next I hear that having ignored , for years, existing laws on noise and litter they will have a whole force to enforce the developers law on renter limits. Comparing the two, drunken parties and trashed neighborhoods, no enforcement, Now they can go get three people renting a house . glory glory.
crazyks (anonymous) says…
I think the whole thing is bizarre. Imagine spending so much time and effort online in a "second life" that you aren't living in the real one.
What is lacking in your own life that spending so much time in that other world is so important?
And if you have the skills and know-how to interact with people and develop businesses and such online, then for God's sake start doing it in real life.
I play RPGs on my computer from time to time, and I love The Sims, simply because I can control what the hell they do or don't do...but I've never played it online, and never will.
I wouldn't want to play in a virtual world with people who's real identities I have no way of knowing, especially if it involves real money. That is just a disaster waiting to happen.
LPfaint (anonymous) says…
1. I have cut all my hair since then, that was sort of a last minute ordea, setting this article up, so I didn't have that much time to get all cleaned up. I really liked that comment about the 70's, though, haha.
2. I'll admit it to you people, my family is rich, and they are paying my college tuition and giving me an allowance, so that I have more time to focus on schoolwork. Yes, I'm lucky I don't have to work. I know that. The six hours thing is a rough estimate of the average. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have one class, and I do nothing all day long.
3. Thanks for mistaking me for Mo Rocca.
LPfaint (anonymous) says…
Oh, one more thing.
I have nothing to do with that Second Life crime deal thing. I think it's stupid. I myself have scammed plenty of people in World of Warcraft. It's hilarious, fun, and they deserve it for trusting a completel stranger.
Wheezer (anonymous) says…
if you didn't clip those sideburns, you should grow em into a chin-strap
75x55 (anonymous) says…
Online gaming. The embodiment of a wasted life.
Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says…
Leialulu... just watch out for Raven. ;)
LPfaint (anonymous) says…
I'm curious what you expect me to do with my free time, then, downtown_topeka.
Let's see...On the one hand, we have "busting my ass 6-8 hours a day when I don't have to," and on the other is "play a game I enjoy with my friends, read a book, watch TV, hang out."
Perhaps I'm missing some life-fulfilling activity. If you could please enlighten me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
:)
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
LPF...
ah, youth wasted on the young! I'm not the downtowner, but couldn't resist. no, am not anti online gaming...I played Zork on mini computers in the first half of the 1980's. (that's why am a gnome)
however, you do seem to be lookin' for some ideas of what to do with that prepaid freetime you have:
1) ever heard of girls? not sim dates with online females, or imaginary scores with online porn, but real time with real girls; try it, you might like it.
2) how about reading...you know, print on paper books. try reading all the works of john steinbeck, or if you want scifi, Ray Bradbury.
3) how about walking/dancing/exercising/volunteering at a local NGO? all work has profit.
4) find an area of intellectual accomplishment and challenge yourself to learn and become really damned good at it, i.e. chess, fencing, programming or whatever.
your parents must care very much for you and if I were your father (sorry, now begin to sound like an old fahrt) I'd want to see you doing things like these, pushing yourself, exercising your mind and your body. okay. you asked, I answered. free of charge, too.
LPfaint (anonymous) says…
Because you were polite about it, I shall address your points politely as well.
1. I have a girlfriend. She goes to school two hours away. My weekends are devoted to time with her (no computer at all from Friday until Sunday, 10:00pm. I'm not sure why you assume I have not heard of girls, but whatever. It's only one strike among the...um...non-strikes.
2. Of course, this one is strike two. I do read, a lot. I'm a big fan of Ray Bradbury (as you mentioned) and Stephen King, as well as Kurt Vonnegut and Chuck Palaniuk. I also read some other series that are more associated with younger readers, perhaps, but I enjoy nonetheless.
3. This is something I do do. Well, at least the walking part. I try to aim for walking at least 3 miles a day, which takes about 40 minutes (I'm a slow walker). I play football with my friends a lot. I'm not a big fan of dancing. I suppose I could volunteer somewhere. Good point on that one.
4. This one I'm truly going to give some thought. I've always wanted to learn to fence, or swordfight at all, but it isn't really something I can teach myself, and what little scheduling I do have is spastic and hard to work around. I should probably try harder to see what I can do.
The only reason I posted anything at all is because I don't want people thinking anyone who plays computer games more than they think is proper is some total loser. Just because I have more free time than others, and the way I enjoy it is not the way someone else would enjoy it, does not mean I'm worth any less than anyone else. That's all.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
nice answer and I am glad you are physically active, and have a real-world girlfriend. there are people in lawrence who can teach you fencing. fencing differs from sword fighting, but there is overlap in technique and the necessary physicality. glad you answered.
Seola (anonymous) says…
I think there is something you guys haven't been told about Second Life. You can sit in an office using the skills you have to drone on and on for a company that in the end can go under too, get paid menially and be stuck in that cubicle.
*OR*
You can set your own hours, be your own boss, do what you want when you want, decide how much time to devote to your work and earn $150,000+ a year. Ask Anshe Chung.
This job affords a lot of people, like housewives, or people who just want extra income and are stay at home for whatever reason quite a bit of cash if they are good at what they do.
Some scripters make several thousand dollars a month. Thier skills in today's market generally only net 2-3.
How many people pay for textures made in Photoshop in the real world? Not many. Some of the most popular clothing designers in SL make several thousand dollars a week.
It's not a get rich quick, it takes hard work, but you get to decide when you want to work. After making hundreds of items, you could never work again and continue to sell whatever you made.
Tell me, what's better? Being your own boss or wasting away in a cubicle, restaurant, etc.?
By the way, most of the long term residents in SL, are over 30. Not lazy kids, many happily married in 'real life'.
Seola (anonymous) says…
Marion, with all due respect, this isn't a hack, it's called a griefing.
It doesn't attack the database or garner info or user information (although the site had a zero day attack back in September, but that's not uncommon, just most web hosting companies don't release the info).
It overloads the server and causes it to slow down, then shut down. Think of it this way: When a pop up spam campaign starts on your comp and opens window after window til you computer shuts down from overload. It's essentially the same as what happened to Amazon with the deal they offered on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart on Black Friday. Sunday wasn't the first and it won't be the last, since this is essentially an open source medium that allows the users to create the world they are in (and that includes scripted objects like the Sonic rings).
Aside from that, the mainstream media, and frankly the general public (as you have shown) don't know a whole lot about it, to form an educated opinion. The article you posted, mentions some of the unhappy residents in the blog of SL. They never mention all those who were happy with LL and SL.
What I think most in this article and subsequent comments are missing is that SL, is 100% user created, from the homes, to the skins the avatars wear, to the hair, to the scripted windows and doors, to the scripted animations, etc. This easily allows for grey goo attacks (grey goo nicknamed for when the object replicates so fast that it doesn't have time to render and shows up as gray blobs).
And due to the amount of user creation, from our own hands, there should be restrictions in place in the real world for attacks in the virtual world. These items have real world value (for example, a piece of clothing sells for 300L which translates to 1USD). While in essence these things only exist on a computer, they generate cold hard cash.