A roundup of headlines for a new wave of head-scratching online crimes - stolen virtual goods, sending and receiving of nude photos, and virtual murder?
Woe to the child who is great at an online game. Now you have to watch your back for some lazy slob who jumps you to steal your online prowess. Witness the poor Dutch lad whose points and account were transferred to a bully who had threatened him with physical harm unless he relented. I suppose the good news is the Dutch legal system recognized that virtual "gold" has real world value and helped him gain justice against his tormentor. The bad guy is looking at both jail time and community service.
Next, our latest "sexting"entry - a young girl takes and sends sexy photos of herself to schoolmates. Prompted by an in-school cybersafety presentation, her peers turn her in. (oh, the irony!) She's facing possible charges as a sex crime offender that could give her 20 years on the Sex Offender Registry. Oddly and I'd love some more information on this aspect, those who received the images are also in judicial hot water. Frankly, when I learned this young girl is in foster care, I felt this might be more appropriately handled with some good counseling and mentoring. We risk this child finding herself branded for life by this mistake and without the sheltering arms of an intact family to hold her, she may never again find her path. Let's hope the leaders of her community will find some compassion to consider her needs and temper the punishment aspect of this case.
Last up in today's entry, we have a Japanese woman who was enjoying a virtual online marriage in a gaming environment when suddenly she found herself dumped in a digital divorce! (I'm sure there was another avatar involved. Some sleazy techno-dolly!) Anyway, by virtue of hacking skills or simply figuring out her "ex-husband"'s account information she was able to commit online gaming murder and wipe him off the gaming system! She's in jail right now for hacking and probably freaking her cell mate out a little, too.