Software (7992)

Teen arrested for virtual theft

Virtual crime, real-world time?

14 November 2007 18:12 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

A Dutch teen has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking site, the BBC reports.

The 17-year-old is accused of stealing nearly £3000 worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money. Five other site members, all 15-year-olds, have also been questioned by police.

The teenagers are suspected of nicking the furniture and moving it into their own Habbo rooms. A spokesman for Habbo Hotel, said: "The accused lured victims into handing over their Habbo passwords by creating fake Habbo websites".

"In Habbo, as in many other virtual worlds, scamming for other people's personal information such as user names has been problematic for quite a while."

Full tags

Software, Online, Websites, Habbo