Quick Stat: 30% of VW/MMO Users Defrauded of Virtual PropertyIn 2007, malware aimed at online games and virtual worlds increased by 145% as 30,000 new programs came out designed to steal passwords for those programs, according to a new report from the ENISA [PDF]. The European agency counts 1 billion registered users for MMOGs and virtual worlds, racking up real-money transactions for virtual goods at $2 billion by the end of 2007. A 1,500-person survey in the report, though, found that 30% of users had lost virtual property due to some form of fraud.
"While annual real-money sales of virtual goods is estimated at nearly 1.5 Bn Euro worldwide, users can do very little if their virtual property is stolen. They are a very soft target for cybercriminals," Giles Hogben, editor of the report put together by a group of industry, academic and government experts, said in a statement. "There are 1 Bn registered players of online games worldwide and the malware targeting them affects everyone with a computer connected to the internet." [via Virtual Worlds News]
11/21/2008 07:51
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