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1. Introduction
Virtual world environments (VWEs) are computing simulation environments that allow users to socialize, play, compete and even work in an immersive online world. VWEs have their heritage in the text-based multi-user computer games (MUDs) of the 1980s (Patterson and Hobbs, 2010), while modern versions are commonly visually rich three-dimensional (3D), extensive environments that range from fantasy- and space-based realms, to life-like real-world environments. The number of people actively participating in these environments has grown dramatically over recent years, with current reports indicating the number of registered virtual world users exceed 1 billion worldwide (Watters, 2010), while the total number of internet users worldwide reported in 2014 was 2.8 billion people (Meeker, 2015), implying that nearly 1 in 3 people use virtual worlds. Virtual world’s expert Marcus Eikenberry estimates the real-world market value attributed to virtual property sales to be between $10bn and $50bn (Patterson and Hobbs, 2011).
The ability to convert virtual property into real-world currency has enabled the rise of a serious problem faced by many in VWEs, that of virtual property theft (VPT) (Patterson and Hobbs, 2011). The problem of VPT is complex, as it envelopes many diverse areas, such as: crime and legal issues (lack of laws to support prosecution, especially in cases that cross international borders, assault and murder resulting from virtual world disputes; social issues); identity theft and harassment; and technological issues (the appropriate use of security methods and tools within the software used to access VWEs to protect resources). VPT occurs when an individual (thief) breaks into a virtual world account of a user (victim) and steals the virtual property items and/or virtual currency which the account owner has collected over (often considerable) time and sometimes real-world currency. The virtual property items are transferred to another account within the virtual world owned by the thief, and when acquisition is obtained, they are then sold on internet sites (for real-world cash) dedicated to virtual property sales, such as PlayerAuctions (2009) and ItemBay (2005).
To provide evidence that the crime of VPT is having an impact on both the virtual world and the real world, four relevant case studies gathered from newspapers are briefly presented below, each result in financial problems for the stakeholders involved but much worse often...