EVE Online duo beats the high score on net gain from a scam in a game

http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/12/...llion-isk/

Of all the stories that come out of EVE Online's colossal sandbox, it's the tales of criminality and dirty dealings that grab our attention the most. Thefts and scams would be cause for account closure in most MMOs, but they form a legitimate and dark part of the EVE universe. The famous Guiding Hand Social Club heist of 2005, Ricdic's EBank scandal and last year's massive 800 billion ISK Titans4U scam are just a few of the most high-profile thefts and scams to hit the EVE community over the years.

Today the biggest scam ever recorded hit thousands of EVE Online players like a brick in the face, netting a record one trillion ISK in final takings. Proving that old ideas still work, Eddie Lampert and Mordor Exuel pulled off a simple Ponzi scheme on a massive scale. Promising unprecedented returns of 5% per week on invested ISK, the duo convinced over 8,000 players to open accounts in their Phaser Inc. investment scheme. Many initially dubious players were eventually convinced to invest by real testimonials from their friends and corpmates.

Over 1,831.67 billion ISK was invested, 345.18 billion of which was paid out as interest and 452.72 billion of which was withdrawn by wary investors. When the business closed up earlier today its owners collected the remaining 1,034 billion ISK. To put that massive number in perspective, it's enough to buy 2,953 30-day time codes worth a total of $51,677.50.

That's pretty impressive. Real life proof that social engineering is more powerful than any script will ever be. I really like EVE's approach to this kind of thing; "if you can pull it off, you earned it". A nice twist that rewards intellect/charisma instead of giving in to the whining masses of those that were scammed by some simple trick like this.

Never heard about that game but the fact that scamming is legit is pretty damn retarded.

Never heard about that game but the fact that scamming is legit is pretty damn retarded.

How so?
Scamming is entirely based upon using your mind and outwitting the other party. Even a simple thing like a transfer of gear on maplestory wouldn't be done with some random person; basically, if you are able to falsify trust to such an extent that a person would trust you with everything they own, you are good enough at it to have earned it if you so desired to steal it.

Never heard about that game but the fact that scamming is legit is pretty damn retarded.

Scamming is partly legal (and in some countries totally) in the real world, but is still pretty retarded.

Never heard about that game but the fact that scamming is legit is pretty damn retarded.

I've always found EVE's ability to have events like these happen is what makes it interesting. Some people will literally spend years as spies in order to gain the power to completely destroy their rival guilds and take all their money.

I've always found EVE's ability to have events like these happen is what makes it interesting. Some people will literally spend years as spies in order to gain the power to completely destroy their rival guilds and take all their money.

this, people say WoW is serious business, but EVE online seems to be a very cuthroat kind of game, it's pretty amazing actually.

I've always found EVE's ability to have events like these happen is what makes it interesting. Some people will literally spend years as spies in order to gain the power to completely destroy their rival guilds and take all their money.

Only problem with that is that it makes your real life the alternative reality instead of the game.

this, people say WoW is serious business, but EVE online seems to be a very cuthroat kind of game, it's pretty amazing actually.

WoW is anything but serious business.

Only problem with that is that it makes your real life the alternative reality instead of the game.

I don't see a problem with that. They are grown men, they can make decisions for themselves, who are we to judge them for it? Sure, you CAN, but in the end it's meaningless to even complain about it and it is very difficult to sway pure opinion over the internet, so you are really just stressing over something that you may never encounter firsthand.

Ha ha Eve has a lot of weird stuff like this. It's really funny reading what scams happen every other month or so.

Eve Online = Massive Multiplayer ROLE playing game, if you want to role play into a scammer (and a succesful one at that) well Kudos to you.

This game seems like true Srs Bsns.

Retarded or not, you have to admit this looks awesome.

Never heard about that game but the fact that scamming is legit is pretty damn retarded.

EVE Online is the Wild West of MMO's. Instead of guilds, corporations exist. You can invest into corporations as well as be a part of them and serve whatever possible role. R&D, mining, protection, etc. Most roles are supported by in-game skills that can be trained even while offline. The only thing EVE Online doesn't allow is continued harassment. Anything else possible in game is OK, and the game is structured purely for that purpose. For example a guy named Bad Bobby ran an investment vehicle corporation called Titans4U. Titans are the largest class of ship in the game and are table-turners in large-scale wars. Players invested into the corporation to get a Titan in return. However, he was able to steal all five Titan blueprints and in-game currency the corporation held, worth $50,000, because he plus four other trustees each owned 20% of the corporations, and in order to unlock the blueprints, over 50% of the shares would have to pass a yes vote. So he initiated a vote to create more shares under the guise of creating more trustees, and when he did, he held over 50% of the corporations stock, and he made off with all of the company's holdings. That was game-legal. It's not like corporate thefts like this come out of left field, all players operate under a "never invest what you can't stand to lose" mindset, and corporate thefts are pretty common in the game. Just not on this scale.

It's stuff like this that makes me play EVE. Corporate theft, piracy, it's all okay. If you don't want to get blasted, stay in sectors with a high-security rating. If you don't want to lose your investments, make sure the corporation is reliable and be wary of privately held corporations. But on the other hand, if you want to be a straight up bad-ass, be a pirate. Join a mercenary corporation. Join a large corporation that has holdings in nullsec space (space that doesn't just have a low security rating, it has no security rating. Legitimately Wild West. Corporations hold down sectors as sovereign space and wars are constantly fought for territory and resources).

The persistent economic-driven aspect of the game is being expanded on with a game called Dust-514. It's an online shooter in the EVE universe where ground wars are fought over planets, and both sides are hired by corporations in EVE.

Lol, a game where scamming is legit!!! Wait Kim Jong-Il finds out!!!

Oh boi... I hope he's not on southperry.net reading my posts! :+)

EVE Online is the Wild West of MMO's. Instead of guilds, corporations exist. You can invest into corporations as well as be a part of them and serve whatever possible role. R&D, mining, protection, etc. Most roles are supported by in-game skills that can be trained even while offline. The only thing EVE Online doesn't allow is continued harassment. Anything else possible in game is OK, and the game is structured purely for that purpose. For example a guy named Bad Bobby ran an investment vehicle corporation called Titans4U. Titans are the largest class of ship in the game and are table-turners in large-scale wars. Players invested into the corporation to get a Titan in return. However, he was able to steal all five Titan blueprints and in-game currency the corporation held, worth $50,000, because he plus four other trustees each owned 20% of the corporations, and in order to unlock the blueprints, over 50% of the shares would have to pass a yes vote. So he initiated a vote to create more shares under the guise of creating more trustees, and when he did, he held over 50% of the corporations stock, and he made off with all of the company's holdings. That was game-legal. It's not like corporate thefts like this come out of left field, all players operate under a "never invest what you can't stand to lose" mindset, and corporate thefts are pretty common in the game. Just not on this scale.

It's stuff like this that makes me play EVE. Corporate theft, piracy, it's all okay. If you don't want to get blasted, stay in sectors with a high-security rating. If you don't want to lose your investments, make sure the corporation is reliable and be wary of privately held corporations. But on the other hand, if you want to be a straight up bad-ass, be a pirate. Join a mercenary corporation. Join a large corporation that has holdings in nullsec space (space that doesn't just have a low security rating, it has no security rating. Legitimately Wild West. Corporations hold down sectors as sovereign space and wars are constantly fought for territory and resources).

The persistent economic-driven aspect of the game is being expanded on with a game called Dust-514. It's an online shooter in the EVE universe where ground wars are fought over planets, and both sides are hired by corporations in EVE.

This entices me to play the game.