EVE EXTRA: $16.5k Heist/Assassination Breaks Ubiqua Seraph Corp
by Alphaville Herald on 05/08/05 at 10:48 am
Read all about it! After a months-long infiltration operation, the Eve Online corporation Guiding Hand Social Club managed to work its agents high into the ranks of the Ubiqua Seraph corp (corps are Eve’s version of guilds), from whence they pulled off what is being called the biggest heist/coup/assassination in Eve history, making away with $16,500 worth of virtual goods–and all within the letter of Eve law.
The PC Gamer article linked above is a fantastic narrative retelling of the operation. And this writer feels that beside being a good story, the fact that such a sophisticated operation is not only possible but actually took place is testament to the success of Eve’s design.
Neal Stewart
Aug 7th, 2005
Oh, shit! You mean $16,500 USD!?
I thought you were talking about Monopoly money.
I didn’t realize there were so many opportunities in Eve for legitimate social-engineering and psyops antics. That’s something that I find intellectually far more appealing than getting anal with combat-tree strategies, click-click XP-farming and the dice-grind monotony of most MMORPGs (*cough* W.O.W *cough*). I’d probably sign up for Eve if I wasn’t still having so much fun fooling around in SL.
What’s interesting to me is the overlap between the in-character clan infiltration and the out-of-character relationship betrayal. I assume that many of the Eve online guilds are also based heavily on RL-name social networks. Players sometimes trade real life personal details and communicate with instant messenger programs, webcams, voice-over-IP, phone-calls, RL meetings etc. This certainly happened in the last infamous Eve Online saga, ‘The Big Scam’, where the scammer won his victims’ confidence using IRC, message forums, AIM, and telephone conversations.
Excerpt from ‘The Big Scam’:
“Tell me something, Nightfreeze, WHY haven’t you picked up the phone yet? AFRAID? I knew you would do something like this, you fucking scumbag. FUCK YOU! [...] I swear to god, if I ever find you in real life, I will beat the everliving piss out of you, YOU LITTLE SHIT.”
I remember one failed (vapor-ware) MMORPG of my youth where our guild-members – a small guild – had shared and confirmed RL ID details in an attempt to make the guild impervious to internal scams in-game. The idea was that it would give us an edge over the other guilds.
In the RL overlap in these MMORPGs, people talk about their medical ailments, financial worries, issues with their family, relationship problems. Sometimes deeply personal stuff. I wonder if any of the key figures in this Eve scam knew each other in Real Life. If so, to what extent might they have also lied and betrayed each other within their Real Life relationships?
– Neal
Urizenus
Aug 7th, 2005
I’m sure it involved a bit of RL betrayal too. I wonder though exactly how hard they had to go. Stealth operations by the SSG used to involve cybering the mark, and I’ve been told of a similar strategy in other MMOGs. No word on whether it involved web-camming.
Prokofy Neva
Aug 7th, 2005
Yes, the SSG used to *marry* to take over lots and “Shadowize” them. They had their marks completely trusting them and them WHAM LOL.
Hey, Neal, let’s take some big corporation down in Eve. You in? I joined. But I didn’t get past the space pod thingie and I don’t see any mentors, greeters, Live Helpers, or Evens — or whatever they call them over there. I have the feeling this isn’t going to be the game for me LOL.
P.S. No, I’m not going to give you my RL telephone number you scumbag and if I ever find you in RL I will wring your scrawny…oh wait…let’s take down the corp in Eve first lol.
Walker Spaight
Aug 7th, 2005
heh look me up in Eve, Prok. I can’t wait to see the FIC corp bloom!
Elle Pollack
Aug 7th, 2005
Anyone know if there’s any free trail deals floating around? Near as I can figure out, you buy time in the game with “cards”, like prepaid phone minutes (only they measure it in “days”), as compared to a monthly subscription. The full pricing details are apparently burried on a part of the website I haven’t found yet.
Can’t really afford any luxury purcheses just now, however ;p
Walker Spaight
Aug 7th, 2005
Elle, they have this system where usually only registered users can refer people for free trials. If you email me at walkeringATgmail.com, I’ll hook you up.
Neal Stewart
Aug 7th, 2005
My SL plate is still a bit too full at the moment Prok to be undertaking other virtual-world projects
I have some plans in the works to take on this ‘Linden’ guild that you may have heard of in Second Life.
It’s all very hush-hush at the moment but I can tell you that it involves a delightful alt temptress named Nola Stewart who will convince CEO Phil Linden to meet her for a quick cyber in a Cubey Terra Dropship in the unpatrolled outer regions of Deep Space.
I fear I have already said too much.
– Neal