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EVE Online Ponzi Scheme Nets $50k Worth of In-Game Currency

Posted by Soulskill on from the almost-enough-for-a-monocle dept.

Calidreth writes "EVE Online is famous for its stories of theft, underhanded dealings, criminal empires and general unscrupulous play. For EVE players, this is generally an accepted part of the game and part of the risk players run. The type of scheme might be old, but the profits were big in the latest EVE Online scam, which has broken records and is now being called the biggest scam in the game's history."

6 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Re:EVE players fell for that? by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Looking at recent history it seems like they are very likely to fall for such a thing.

  2. Re:Don't understand spending time/money on game as by kalirion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How is spending substantial sums of money on in-game items of no practical real-world value any different from spending substantial sums of money on real-world items of no practical real-world value?

    Some people get as much enjoyment out of EVE as you might out of a month in the Bahamas. What makes them insane and you perfectly normal?

  3. Every "investment" in EVE is a scam. by harl · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Every money making venture in Eve is scam. If it doesn't start out as one it turns into one when the pile of cash crosses a certain threshold.

    There is no safe investment in Eve. We are all crooks.

    I think the only reason these things continue to work is player churn.

    --
    I find being offended by me offensive.
    1. Re:Every "investment" in EVE is a scam. by Rigrig · · Score: 4, Interesting
      FTFA:

      Along the way, 345.18 billion ISK was paid out to investors as interest to make sure the scheme kept going. Another 452.72 billion was withdrawn by worried investors before the company shut down; that left 1,034 billion ISK in the hands of the company's owners.

      I always wonder how many of these worried investors recognized the scheme for what it was right away, and decided to try and make some profit out of it themselves.

      --
      **TODO** [X] Steal someone elses sig.
  4. Re:It's fun when it's fiction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    it was all fictional money

    All money is.

  5. Re:It's fun when it's fiction by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In a game where you can pretend to be a vicious murdering pirate, is it okay to pretend to be a white collar criminal?