Boy hacker scams 36 mil yen for virtual dress
A 16-year-old male gamer infatuated with the gothic dress worn by the fictional princess in an online role-playing game has been arrested for hacking into the game company’s servers and scamming a boatload of virtual money.
On January 24, Tokyo Metropolitan Police officers from the “Hi-Tech Crimes Control Center” arrested the high school student from Fukui, Japan and charged him with illegally accessing the website of Tokyo-based game company NEXON and stealing over 36 million yen ($325,000) worth of virtual currency used in the Mabinogi online role-playing game. The money can be used to purchase virtual items in the game, and it can be converted into real-world cash.
According to investigators, the suspect used software from an illegal website to obtain the ID and password of a former NEXON employee, which he used to access the company’s servers from his home computer last October. Once inside NEXON’s system, he registered a new ID and password and began filling his coffers with the in-game money.
While most of the loot went unused, the suspect allegedly converted 7 million points into about 600,000 yen ($5,500) worth of web money, which he used to purchase books and software.
The suspect has reportedly fessed up to the crime. “I originally wanted the dress worn by the princess,” he admitted, “but I just ended up racking up a bunch of game points.”
[Source: Nikkan Sports]
I’m curious…what’s the most popular MMORPG in Japan? I’ve only heard scattered reports of gaijin and a small number of Japanese playing Warcraft.
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So wait… the kid hacks into a game server and steals money to BUY SOFTWARE?
Was he in an ironic mood or something?
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remember he’s only a 16 yr old kid. when he had 5 grand in his pockets he prollie had no use for it and probably couldn’t buy anything materialistic cuz his parents would notice something fishys going on (like if he purchased a PS3 or Wii for example) so thats why he probably ended up buying a software. well we know he ain’t that smart since he failed to realize that by accessing it at home, they could detect his IP address and locate where he is. so by that we can tell he has minimal computer IQ. he probably just found a site that allows such things and figured “why not give it a shot” and when it worked he was overwhelmed and let his greed take over his 16 yr old mind.
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i wonder what’s so special about the dress in the first place. Is it that hard to obtain whereas someone has to hack into the game’s system just to obtain it? Also, the dress isnt all that good looking if you ask me. Heck, also, why is this guy playing as a girl? Is that some kind of new fetish for teenage boys? Lord, what has the human society gone to. Maybe he’s… gay? lol, still, i feel bad for him. He went THAT FAR just to get a virtual dress for his character.
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would you stare at a boys ass or a girls? (if you are/were a boy)
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There are stores in Japan that sell cloths worn by girls and ladies. Each piece comes with a picture showing the person wearing the cloths, and each has a one of a kind tag on it, shown in the picture to prove that its the same one.
And everyone at some point or another wants something cute. Most people go for pets in most parts of the world, but in japan, its typically figurs or cloths worn by cute ladies.
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“I originally wanted the dress worn by the princess,” he admitted, “but I just ended up racking up a bunch of game points.” rofl, that is just too funny… poor kid, hope they didn’t throw him in jail or slap a big fine on his parents.
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he wanted a………….dress????
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seriously a dress????? ^
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in my opinion though I agree with ripper above I
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Wow, i was going to start playing thid game…..
All i did was go to wikipedia.coma nd i find out that some kid hacked a HUGE COMPANY….
Im really not that interested any more…
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that dress is fugly….
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Wow, he hacked a company and got arrested, all so he could get a dress which, in my opinion, isn’t all that nice…and why is he playing as a girl character?
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WHOA talk about messed up…thats just desperate though to get a VIRTUAL DRESS THAT ISNT EVEN REAL, i tell ya no life. Sometimes i wonder how japan has such extreame things going on for simple virtual stuff (im not saying japan is bad, just how does the government put up with that?)
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I think this kid has a higher IQ then you guys think. He most likely did a majority of this hacking using a compilation of programs that he exploited to hack Nexon, possibly a codebreaker virus, and then used the dress excuse to play the “innocent kid” card. It is the work of a true mastermind, if you ask me. I mean, what one website can hack Nexon? He would have had to know alot about hacking. And at 16, to be arrested by the Hi-Tech Crimes Control Center, wow; he must have been using pretty strong programs…just a guess, though.
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I believe that’s the definition of a script kiddie.
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i could hack stuff but not that crazy also whats wrong about a guy having a dress i buy adress from the homepage and sell it
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Oh wow way to go kid. Actually no it is so wrong to steal programs no matter what way you do it. But still brava on how smart you would have to be in order to pull off such a caper.
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Also, it really is amazing how far people are going just to get a free program or in this case how far the boy was willing to go in order to dress his virtual girl up in a pretty dress!
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Oh yes, and not to mention he will most likely be the one wearing a dress when he goes to prison for it. I really hope they pull through on the charges other wise what a wasted effort.
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I wonder how much time he will get if he actually gets some time in the pen. I hear a japanese prison is pure hell and I for one will never commit a crime overseas simply because of the prison and punishment rumors!
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You do know that if you’re a US citizen, and you commit a crime that isn’t illegal in the US overseas, the law is different?
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No every law is same on hacking in ehe earth ALL.
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HiTech is a site too ive seen it in chinese.
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You guys are silly :P
The article doesn’t say anything about the boy playing as a girl. He could have simply wanted the dress to make a profit on the game, or to obtain something cute. The game gives you goals that you can aim for. And so, he aimed for the rare dress.
Software is also a big deal in Japan’s industry. You have software such as AniAnime (Did I translate that right?) and SAI Painter Pro. There are plenty of expensive software that can be very luxurious to a 16 year old kid. Hell, even to an adult.
It’s just the same as there can be expensive Software in america.
Also, The article never stated that they caught him by tracing his IP. If he plays an online game, he will atleast know a thing or two about IP Addresses. Kids aren’t dumb, don’t assume so.
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Well…um i think he just was a smart guy like Asche Said and its wierd because that dress is fugly…lol. And um anyway i think if that were me i would’ve hacked it at a place where they couldnt find me, like a library that gives internet or sumthin because then they wont be able to trace the ip address of hwere i am so… and anyway why is he a girl???? is he perverted lol? or just has alot of accounts and its kinda wierd for a boy to say I originally wanted the dress worn by the princess. so yeah….^_^
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btw MABINOGI ROCKS THE HOUSE also AQW does too.
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i think he just was a smart guy
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Wow! hacking Nexon is ridiculosly. hard, btw* i rly want that dress for my Girl Character.. cough* cough*(sarcasm)
You never know~ it might be a boy thats online playing as a girl…, we are all transvestites deep inside :)
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He’s trying to make the money it’s clear to me it’s a 10mil + dress in-game
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