Virtual Currency Extortion Leads to Jail
Posted on : 10-06-2009 | By : Nathaniel | In : Virtual Worlds
Tags: China, Koster, QQ, Tencent, virtual goods, web portal
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Via Raph Koster comes word that a gang of Internet café bullies in China have been convicted of cyber extortion surrounding major Chinese web portal, Tencent. Accused of stealing Tencent QQ coins valued at 100,000 yuan ($14,000), the court ruled that the virtual goods, since purchased, constituted a legitimate case of extortion. The ring leader got three years in jail while the three accomplices received fines.
Koster notes that this is not surprising given the substantial size of the industry in China, estimated to be 25 times the size of the US market. See link for report and slide show.
