[Discussion] Friend Got Hacked Again

[Manticore]

I believe this post is relevant here because of the contents by which this incident involved, i.e. rares.


Recently, a friend of mine, a fellow rares collector returning to UO had their account hacked. The hacker knew what they were doing, and only removed the most valuable items from his collection. Fortunately they didn’t delete houses, characters, or take anything else. Perhaps my friend interfered before they could finish the job.



This has happened to my friend once before about 5 years ago. Last time he was compensated by the hacker in cash for his loss for a total of $3000. Luckily he has connections with his local police department, and a family member who works for the FBI in electronic crimes division. Soon EA Mythic will share the IP address of the hacker with the proper authorities, and my friend will prosecute all who are responsible to the full extent of the law. Depending on the total value of the items stolen based on current market value advertised on websites, this crime could be considered a felony in his state which brings hard jail time.



I am writing this as a reminder to every player who spends real cash on this game we love. Change your passwords, e-mail address, and update your virus protection often. Don't attach any email addresses with your icq account. Be vigilant. Also if you happen to know who might be responsible, please advise them to come forward with the items as soon as possible, and all will be forgiven. Otherwise be forewarned, my friend will not give up until he makes you pay.



No comments or questions on this post. Please send your messages to me in private.

 

[mandosa-nice]

If the hacker live outside the USA, good luck with the fbi. The FBI can't make anything...

All my family are policeman, douane, justice and europole, so good luck.

 

[BobbyBoggie]

I would imagine the FBI have better things to do then deal with a UO hacked account... if not then thats sad in my opinon...

 

[Demonous]

wish i had connections with the police/fbi, when my account got hacked a few years ago the police wouldn't do anything and told me its up to EA to do something about it, EA refused to give me the IP address of the hacker and i was willing to take matters into my own hands if i got the ip address but they refused to cooperate

 

[Omnius]

your friend doesn't own anything in UO. EA owns everything. You agree that you pay for a service, you don't actually have ownership rights to uo's virtual goods. Your friend can't even sue for damages.

 

[Lord Nabin]

Manticore,

That is just a serious bummer. Even if EA owns everyting as per the well blah blah blah.
We choose to be care takers for these items and the fact that someone can hack into an account and run free is very disturbing. Please forward my well wishes for your friend. The good news they didn't loose everything.

 

[Apetul]

Why people think they can do anything with just an IP? most people doesnt have static IP, there are thousands of proxys and u can go any cyber-cafe to do your hacking-nasty-things. If the guy got hacked -twice-, then its time to get a new account name, and not receive/execute anything that comes on email, nor even download crap from internet.

Btw.. no one here owns anything, and the virtual stuff cannot be translated to real cash by "current market value" (whats that?). Is anyone here paying taxes for the pixels? :O

 

[Jessica Marie]

Yes I agree isnt like real $$$. Lol but is about the time spent!!!

 

[Blessed]

Yes I agree isnt like real $$$. Lol but is about the time spent!!!

Unfortunately, it *IS* real money, especially when you're paying monthly account dues, and buying extremely rare items for real cash.

Sorry for your friends loss, Manticore. I agree with the above people, he should rid the account and get a new one.. That is time spent, but accounts are really easy to build up these days.

 

[Manticore]

He is reading these posts and wanted to say thanks for those who gave constructive criticisms as well as words of kindness.

 

[Omnius]

It sucks that things work that way. He might have a trespass case...

 

[BobbyBoggie]

This post is a complete waist of time. I feel bad your friend got hacked but all this talk about charges, FBI and real money make this post a joke. Just my 2 cents

 

[cre8]

I wish I had more to offer but I am sorry for your friend! perhaps posting the stolen items (if they are very unique and valuable) would be helpful that people here might report finding them for sale (and whose selling)

 

[Demonous]

UO is actually one of the few if not the only MMORPG that refuses to do something about it when a player gets hacked, in other games you contact a gm or customer service and they will get your character back to you if deleted, restore your houses, get your items and gold back etc... EA acts like its a difficult thing to do but in truth, you better believe if one of the dev members got hacked on their regular player accounts, they would use their abilities to get their stuff back

 

[JC the Builder]

Why people think they can do anything with just an IP? most people doesnt have static IP, there are thousands of proxys and u can go any cyber-cafe to do your hacking-nasty-things.

You can't do anything with a IP. You can do something with an IP and a timestamp. Internet service providers have logs of who was using which IP address. Even if you have a dial-up connection they will be able to link it back to you. If you use a Internet Cafe the owner might have information about you.

Btw.. no one here owns anything, and the virtual stuff cannot be translated to real cash by "current market value" (whats that?). Is anyone here paying taxes for the pixels? :O

Virtual items can be proven to have actual value. UO gold definitely has a real world price, so all you need to do is a conversion from gold to cash.

 

[Omnius]

You can't do anything with a IP. You can do something with an IP and a timestamp. Internet service providers have logs of who was using which IP address. Even if you have a dial-up connection they will be able to link it back to you. If you use a Internet Cafe the owner might have information about you.


Virtual items can be proven to have actual value. UO gold definitely has a real world price, so all you need to do is a conversion from gold to cash.

JC, I won't give you a lesson in law but you don't own anything in UO. You legally have no standing to sue for any civil remedy. Your only bet would be something along the lines of a trespassing criminal charge and no prosecutor wants to be the guy who wasted his resources on something like video games.

 

[Apetul]

You can't do anything with a IP. You can do something with an IP and a timestamp. Internet service providers have logs of who was using which IP address. Even if you have a dial-up connection they will be able to link it back to you. If you use a Internet Cafe the owner might have information about you.

This is a bit of offtopic but.. really? Hollywood movies shows that IP are tied to houses, even to addresses. Reality is different, people can hide using proxys or just open a terminal into another computer located in a different place in this world. Good luck finding people that way. About Internet Cafes, last time i went to one I paid 1usd aprox for 1hr and I used a computer they provide me. Btw I paid with cash, so no.. they dont have any information about me or any other person using this service.
Again, on hollywood movies.. cybercafe/internet cafes have security cams, but real world is *so* different.

 

[JC the Builder]

This is a bit of offtopic but.. really? Hollywood movies shows that IP are tied to houses, even to addresses. Reality is different, people can hide using proxys or just open a terminal into another computer located in a different place in this world. Good luck finding people that way. About Internet Cafes, last time i went to one I paid 1usd aprox for 1hr and I used a computer they provide me. Btw I paid with cash, so no.. they dont have any information about me or any other person using this service.
Again, on hollywood movies.. cybercafe/internet cafes have security cams, but real world is *so* different.

If the person is smart, then it can be extremely difficult to find them. But if the enforcement agency is determined enough they can keep following the proxies until they catch up to your or it leads to a dead end. Proxies usually keep records too.

While you might have paid cash at the Cafe, they could still have a record of all the website you visited, your instant messages and such. Did you login to your facebook page? It is just plain old detective work to figure out who you are.

I'm not saying they will be able to find you all the time with a IP and timestamp. But saying you are completely immune is very far from the truth.

 

[Apetul]

While you might have paid cash at the Cafe, they could still have a record of all the website you visited, your instant messages and such. Did you login to your facebook page? It is just plain old detective work to figure out who you are.

Haha, ok, im not going to argue against a hollywood movie lover

 

[Assia Penryn]

Alright, I think the warning for protecting your account has been seen by the community. Please be careful with your account and rares.

 

[Nails Warstein]

Greetings Friends and Fellow Collectors!

As some of you may now know, I am the player for whom this thread was written about. I returned to UO in October after a 2 year hiatus, and within 5 days of reactivating my account, my account was illegally accessed. Fortunately they only took my rare items instead of deleting my characters and demolishing my castles. I have an important update to share with you all.

But first I would like to thank Manticore for posting this thread in order to help me recover my missing items. Second I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the cooperation of the Stratics Staff, the employees of Electronic Arts Mythic too numerous to count, my local police department, and my cousin. For which I would not be able to track down those responsible for hacking my UO account. Thirdly, I appreciate the warm welcomes and thoughtful concerns from all my old friends and contacts.

Last, but not least, I just wanted to say thank you to the player who decided to return some of the stolen items by Mailbox outside my castle. I eagerly look forward to receiving the rest of my items exactly the way you found them at your earliest convenience. You could leave them by mailbox, or contact me through my ICQ 150528775. I am sincerely grateful for your assistance more than you'll ever realize, or fully appreciate.

Highest Regards,

Nails Warstein