Illegal activity

[mountnman]

If an avatar (the person controlling the avatar) breaks the law (such as fraud/theft against another avatar), would Mindark be able to assist in the prosecution of said avatar (person)?

 

[Xpl0jd]

If an avatar (the person controlling the avatar) breaks the law (such as fraud/theft against another avatar), would Mindark be able to assist in the prosecution of said avatar (person)?

I think they can help by give logs to police, but iv never did anything like this so im not 100%

best way is to send MA a supportcase and ask if u need this help.

 

[Ze-Tomb Raider]

If I understand correctly, what your asking is

Would MindArk help in the event of a scam?

In which case, I'll draw upon what I know from Entropia Scam history and say, probably not.
Although, as far as I know, legal action has not yet been taken upon any member of the Entropia community after a scam.
Anyone who has asked MindArk for help in resolving a scam (9 times out of 10 (1% of statistics are made up)) has been unable to get help.

There have been a few cases though with major item theft/fraud that accounts that so much as touched the stolen items, have been locked.

I can only think of 1 case right now, those would be when a BLP amp was switched in the trade and the scammer refused to trade it back for the negotiated BLP amp, MindArk locked his account until it was resolved.

There was another case, I am unsure of details, but many accounts were locked for a long time.

 

[Selosse]

Would probably get the answer "all deals all final!"

But ofcourse you should try


BKK

 

[Spawn]

Ingame scams: No, all trades are final. it's your own fault.

Hacking: I got hacked in 2005, 1250 peds stolen (back then gold cards were just invented, and I found out the hard way). Mindark couldn't give me the name of the avatar or rl details. I did go to the police, who jotted the details down (and probably threw it all in the bin after I left). One week later I looted an item worth 1250 ped.. really coincidental.

 

[Vlooe]

If you ask MA direct you will not get any names or further information about the case.

But if you go to the police and they ask MA they will get the names and then you can try to get a lawsuit against the person directly.

But as others said, MA will never move any items as all trades are final.
Only exeption i could imagine: theY move it as a result of the lawsuit

 

[headshotpro]

Careful of any deal with 3d 3dJoker Joker or Mel Melony, I wont go into detail to protect self, but I have taken loss from this person. He goes under Jackjoker JackJoker73 also Jack Rogers and will use other identity to harm.

 

[Few Scars]

The legality of virtual property and ownership is becoming a big legal issue. I think SecondLife developers, LindenLab are in the courts at the moment about what a player actually owns legally. The questions are that do you own the pixel space in the game or that small piece of hard drive containing the 10101010 code

MindArk does state that all trades are final, but I suspect if you lend someone a virtual item and they do not return it, then that is theft and you have a legal right to persue that person legally in real life.

To get around this all MindArk has to do is create a rent/borrow option trade window where two avatars can put a price on the rent 0 - XPed and the said item is locked to the owner who can recall it after the term of the rent/borrow is complete, or it auto returns at the end of the contract. Its not hard to do and I think MindArk need to implement something like this to protect players and themselves in the developing world of virtual legalities.

 

[whiteknut]

Careful of any deal with 3d 3dJoker Joker or Mel Melony, I wont go into detail to protect self, but I have taken loss from this person. He goes under Jackjoker JackJoker73 also Jack Rogers and will use other identity to harm.

Mel Melony... I am afraid to ask, but i hope you didnt lose Delta 5D apartment among other stuff, because he sold me one very cheap yesterday, i thought why so cheap.

 

[Viperstrike]

If an avatar (the person controlling the avatar) breaks the law (such as fraud/theft against another avatar), would Mindark be able to assist in the prosecution of said avatar (person)?

Hi Andrew,

I know that the internet fraud team here in the NSW police can help, which will work together with the AFP federal police to ask an international provider to provide the details.

This is if your persuing legal action against a fellow australian, being that your in the same country of residence.

Beyond that (Another country) I am not sure tbh.

I made enquires with a school mate who now is now a senior seagent in that division about Entropia what could be done. Just passing on the details. I can also put you in direct contact with him if you wish and are in NSW.

So chain of command is ... NSW police > File report with Internet Fraud division > NSW works with the AFP (Australian Federal Police) > Mindark > Name and details and logs obtained > Federal Police > NSW police > Prosecution.

The AFP usually handles all of this normally, however that being said you have a second option too. There is also the crime commission that you can visit, they have more power than the AFP, if your not happy with the outcome.

Hope that helps, contact me ingame if you wish to speak a NSW Senior Seagant in the Internet Fraud Division (Sydney CBD Office) for further advise.

Also there is another I can put you in contact with, he is much higher ranking (oversees the operation of several divisions), though it would be like using a canon to kill a fly.

Cheers,
Viper

PS. Just a quick question ? This doesn't involve your LA does it ?
PM me if you don't want to reply to this question publicly.

 

[goodgrief999]

Mindark will co-operate with police.

I reported a 50 ped theft and had the screenshots/time and date stamped to prove it. Mindark told me to go to the police (!) and they would co-operate by giving the police all the logs (seriously - 50 ped). So i) they will almost never return anything, no matter what but ii) they will help the police, obviously.
The problem is, if it had been 5k ped, my local police wouldn't have wanted to get involved (maybe 50k) - unless it was one of the younger officers, they wouldn't understand the concept of virtual property. An older officer, probably even with 2K USD would have said it was 'civil' to dodge the effort of contacting Sweden.

 

[mountnman]

Hi Andrew,

I know that the internet fraud team here in the NSW police can help, which will work together with the AFP federal police to ask an international provider to provide the details.

This is if your persuing legal action against a fellow australian, being that your in the same country of residence.

Beyond that (Another country) I am not sure tbh.

I made enquires with a school mate who now is now a senior seagent in that division about Entropia what could be done. Just passing on the details. I can also put you in direct contact with him if you wish and are in NSW.

So chain of command is ... NSW police > File report with Internet Fraud division > NSW works with the AFP (Australian Federal Police) > Mindark > Name and details and logs obtained > Federal Police > NSW police > Prosecution.

The AFP usually handles all of this normally, however that being said you have a second option too. There is also the crime commission that you can visit, they have more power than the AFP, if your not happy with the outcome.

Hope that helps, contact me ingame if you wish to speak a NSW Senior Seagant in the Internet Fraud Division (Sydney CBD Office) for further advise.

Also there is another I can put you in contact with, he is much higher ranking (oversees the operation of several divisions), though it would be like using a canon to kill a fly.

Cheers,
Viper

PS. Just a quick question ? This doesn't involve your LA does it ?
PM me if you don't want to reply to this question publicly.

It's not to do with my land area. I believe the avatar is based in the USA. Can your contacts assist me with me if they are based there?

 

[Viperstrike]

It's not to do with my land area. I believe the avatar is based in the USA. Can your contacts assist me with me if they are based there?

No idea tbh, I will have a chat with the NSW Senior Seagant tomorrow at some point when he is home from work and ask how it works.

Sorry to hear about your predicament.

Maybe you might want to call the Police enquiries line and explain your issue first.

They will be able to point you to the right officer, Police, AFP or crime commission to help out.

Link > http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/services

Phone : Police Assistance Line (131 444)

TBH that would be the best bet, though talk in $ AUD values not in PED values and it would be considered stealing or fraud. Please note though Andrew, I am just passing info on, I do not wish to get involved in this in any way.

 

[aridash]

in theory, yes. in practice? no. look, they've taken years to address the problem of two or three avatars using bots, they ignore exploits and those that use them and scammers generally work with impunity (otherwise they wouldnt be there after months or years). all trades a final covers 90% of issues, buy a gold card covers most the rest. only if it affects them, financially or their reputation, will they act. they do seem to act upon outright abuse apparently but thats about it.

 

[Viperstrike]

Hi Andrew,

I caught him and he said it would be best to call the enquiries line to ensure that your put through to the right department and officer/s. I can't give you his direct work number as calls of this nature must first be initiated through the proper protocols.

Sorry I could not be of more help.
He did say that yes they do handle overseas fraud & theft through the AFP & Interpol.

Cheers,
Viper

 

[forgo]

Unfortunately No. The items in game are not yours, they have no value, you do not own anything until its back in your bank.

The only "real property" fraud that could technically happen is one against MA from a player or vise versa.

In game fraud (player to player) is completely MA's control and authority, but they ultimately pass the buck down to the player, with the "all trades are final" clause, and the fact that we don't "own" anything in game.

I would venture to guess that there would not be any action ever unless it went past 50k PEDS in value. But even this amount wouldn't even nearly cover the retainer cost of the lawyers needed to get any legal action going, especially for what is most likely a multinational case. Only in Sweden would this cost be possibly manageable, because all legal disputes would need to be made in Swedish court if it relates to MA properties. Otherwise, you have some plane tickets to pay for from the get go.

If you wanted to spend alot of money to get the PEDs back, I am sure you could, I am afraid it would probably be a 95% chance to get nothing at all back for the effort, besides a big legal bill and a headache.

You could call the cops, they could find out all kinds of stuff, you still need lawyers to get things done especially when the case law is so scarce in the virtual property rights arena.

Either way I wish you luck.

 

[Chrome]

If an avatar (the person controlling the avatar) breaks the law (such as fraud/theft against another avatar), would Mindark be able to assist in the prosecution of said avatar (person)?

Welcome to Entropia Universe.

 

[Shard-Angel]

The items perhaps might not be "owned" by us... but we have a legal right to "possess" them (once legally acquired).

Said person (perhaps) can be charged for illegal/unlawful acquisition/possession or something along those lines?

Theft = theft. Fraud = fraud. All our bank monies are also virtual.