Dark Secrets The Gaming Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know

Game Economies Have Been Used For Laundering Money

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While virtual currency in video games can be used to buy and sell items and improve your character, some cyber-criminals have found a way to use it to launder real money. In 2013, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime announced that criminals were using games to move money around all over the world. According to their publishings, the games Second Life and World of Warcraft were the most popular for this kind of criminal activity.

Using multiple accounts, people would turn real money into in-game currency, sent to another player, then re-sell it for real money. It’s surprisingly simple and difficult to track since virtual economies aren’t regulated and there aren’t international boundaries.