How to Catch Thieves and Pirates
How to Catch Thieves and Pirates
November 6, 2009
A VentureBeat story details how Activision Blizzard was able to track down a pirate selling Xbox 360 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 bundles on Craigslist, and how the cracking of that crime led to the arrest of another individual selling illegal copies of the game.
The game in question, of course, doesn’t come out until November 10, prompting the publisher to call in IPCybercrime, a Dallas-based private investigation firm that specializes in online crimes. Turns out, employees at a retail outlet had stolen a crate of the bundles from a store.
However, the thieves had already sold a bundle to a software cracker that was able to figure out how to make illegal dupes of MW2. In what was probably not a coincidence, copies of the game started to make their way onto online torrent and peer-to-peer websites soon after.
Using an email address from a forum post, investigators were able to link a Facebook account to the poster and then, in turn, link an address to the Facebook account. Following a buy/bust sting involving a physical copy of MW2, police were able to pin the crime on 18-year old Christian Del Amo of Miami (pictured).
IPCybercrime’s owner, Rob Holmes, said Del AMo was in position to sell “thousands” of the illegal copies.
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Posted 02/09/10 at 07:00am
Austin_Lewis: That Alabama school shooting is supposedly gang related, according to the shooter's lawyer.
Austin_Lewis: That Alabama school shooting is supposedly gang related, according to the shooter's lawyer.
Posted 02/08/10 at 10:22pm
JDKJ: Landrieu. That's a good Cajun name. I ga-run-tee.
JDKJ: Landrieu. That's a good Cajun name. I ga-run-tee.
Posted 02/08/10 at 09:36pm
BearDogg-X: New Orleans elected Sen. Mary Landrieu's brother, Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu as mayor Saturday night.
BearDogg-X: New Orleans elected Sen. Mary Landrieu's brother, Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu as mayor Saturday night.
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:22pm
Valdearg: J/K, btw, with that last comment. Just in case anyone was confused.
Valdearg: J/K, btw, with that last comment. Just in case anyone was confused.
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:21pm
Valdearg: This comes on the heels of Sarah Palin telling the Teaparty Convention to pray for Divine intervention to stop the Progressive tide. It seems she succeeded in recruiting the big man to offer some help. >.<
Valdearg: This comes on the heels of Sarah Palin telling the Teaparty Convention to pray for Divine intervention to stop the Progressive tide. It seems she succeeded in recruiting the big man to offer some help. >.<
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:20pm
Valdearg: @A_L: I'm hearing that, as well.. It seems the dems aren't just losing seats via elections... :(
Valdearg: @A_L: I'm hearing that, as well.. It seems the dems aren't just losing seats via elections... :(
Posted 02/08/10 at 02:04pm
DarkSaber: Did he design Big Murtha Truckers 1 & 2?
DarkSaber: Did he design Big Murtha Truckers 1 & 2?
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:50pm
Austin_Lewis: John Murtha reportedly deceased.
Austin_Lewis: John Murtha reportedly deceased.
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:04pm
Shadow D. Darkman: DarkSaber: (EDIT) IDC really, it's just good to see some new stuff here.
Shadow D. Darkman: DarkSaber: (EDIT) IDC really, it's just good to see some new stuff here.
Posted 02/08/10 at 01:02pm
DarkSaber: @Shadow If the on-going spat in China over WoW counts as "new" at least. Does anyone here REALLY give a shit about the state of chinas game industry anyway?
DarkSaber: @Shadow If the on-going spat in China over WoW counts as "new" at least. Does anyone here REALLY give a shit about the state of chinas game industry anyway?
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:59pm
gellymatos: Oh, we pro-life advocates have our nutjuobs to (ie, guys who shoot up abortion clincs). We can have worse ones than yours.
gellymatos: Oh, we pro-life advocates have our nutjuobs to (ie, guys who shoot up abortion clincs). We can have worse ones than yours.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:58pm
Shadow D. Darkman: Finally, new articles!
Shadow D. Darkman: Finally, new articles!
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:57pm
Valdearg: @Gelly: As much as I hate to admit it, it's because so many of us on the Left are utterly predictable with our outrage, LOL.
Valdearg: @Gelly: As much as I hate to admit it, it's because so many of us on the Left are utterly predictable with our outrage, LOL.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:57pm
gellymatos: Oh, and the boycotting didn't get that much attention to be a real blow to pro-choice advocates either.
gellymatos: Oh, and the boycotting didn't get that much attention to be a real blow to pro-choice advocates either.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:52pm
gellymatos: ...predict such a bad move by what is not considered a stupid group.
gellymatos: ...predict such a bad move by what is not considered a stupid group.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:50pm
gellymatos: How can you script someone boycotting the super bowl over such a trivial ad. An ad they must have seen before hand. You can't...
gellymatos: How can you script someone boycotting the super bowl over such a trivial ad. An ad they must have seen before hand. You can't...
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:47pm
Valdearg: There are plenty of bright people in Marketing, and this struck me as too perfect, and too scripted to have been just a byproduct of some lucky stroke of luck on FotF's part.
Valdearg: There are plenty of bright people in Marketing, and this struck me as too perfect, and too scripted to have been just a byproduct of some lucky stroke of luck on FotF's part.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:46pm
Valdearg: You are so quick to disqualify the possibility that it was planned. I'm not saying that it necessarily WAS as I describe it, but I certainly believe it a very real possibility.
Valdearg: You are so quick to disqualify the possibility that it was planned. I'm not saying that it necessarily WAS as I describe it, but I certainly believe it a very real possibility.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:42pm
gellymatos: ...that. However, that doesn't strike me as something predictable. Was it a bonus? Yes. Was it planned to be so? No.
gellymatos: ...that. However, that doesn't strike me as something predictable. Was it a bonus? Yes. Was it planned to be so? No.
Posted 02/08/10 at 12:41pm
DarkSaber: Ah right here we go again, someone disagrees with Val therefore they don't know what they are talking about.
DarkSaber: Ah right here we go again, someone disagrees with Val therefore they don't know what they are talking about.
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Comments
Whilst I applaud Blizzard for catching the criminals, I must, once again ask what the point of DRM is, I think this little incident once again proves that it is not only a waste of time for users, but a waste of money for the companies.
When someone can, in a very short space of time, break the DRM system, then all it adds up to is an inconvenience that does nothing but push up the cost of creating and buying games.
To try to prevent re-sale, and that's pretty much it.
Problem is, it won't prevent resale, what it will do is both encourage piracy, and allow people to rip-off other people who don't understand how DRM works.
Explain that to the CEOs who OKed this crap.
Keep in mind that they were busting this guy for the xbox 360 version, not the PC version. I've never heard of a console games DRM even marginally inconveniencing the customer.
Fair enough, I'll admit my knowledge beyond the PC stage is pretty limited, but it still seems to me that something that can be cracked so easily doesn't really seem to serve a purpose, it seems that most of the people who get caught with pirated software are caught by human observation and common sense, not DRM, so companies are paying twice for protection, once in DRM and once in the wages of the XBox Live staff, and only one of them is actually appearing to be effective.
I was at Gamestop this week picking up Borderlands (THE ENDING SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!), and a friend who works there was telling me that some of his friends already had a copy of MW2, due to having a modded 360 and downloading it. Anyway, they apparently didn't have the modding quite down, because once Xbox Live noticed that they had been playing the game, it shut down their accounts. HAHA.
Interesting story, Gamestop has had MW2 for the better part of the week. They just can't give it out yet. But some employees are less than strict with their policies.
Also, while getting Borderland, I got a first look at the 'NVG' that come with MW2. If you spent money on it, I have bad news: they're actually WORSE that that 'spy gear' toy nightvision crap.
Chances are, the fact they were playing a game that hadn't even been released probably tipped them off ;) They were probably silly enough to try and go Multiplayer with it or the like.
Apparently, they were playing the full version, which means that it racked up those lovely 'achievements'. And once they noticed achievements for it showing up on XBL accounts, they got wise, and banhammered the lot of them. What's funniest is some of the people I know of being banned had just bought a year's subscription, and will not be getting any back from the look of things.
If there were Digital Darwin Awards, they'd be up for nomination ;)
I dunno, does losing a game account fall along a digital version of removing oneself from the gene pool?
Its not just a game account its your live account,everything you bought for it and that 360s connection to live as well. So it kinda is.... LOL
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
it's a console ban. you can switch your harddrive to a new xbox and everything will be back to normal. you will still have your full account along with your microsoft points.
AL
to get backups to run on a 360 you need a flashed drive, you can go the mile and get a modchip and what not to make it do more but a simple software mod loaded to a 360 DVD drive with 10-20$ worth of hardware laying around will do the trick.
Its mostly playing the games befor they hit the shelfs that get people baned.
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
THAT is how you bust pirates and theives. You don't drum up overly expensive DRM that only punishes legit customers, you do al ittle footwork and track down the idiots hwo actually are selling stolen product for cash.
BUt hey, that'd take actualy work ,and, can't have a CEO doing that.
+10
No more useless DRM, please.
People would know those are illegal copies and not bother with them. They can easily wait for the real game.
When Jack Thompson runs his mouth, does anyone really care what he has to say anymore?
copy infringment is not illegal(you can be sued in cival court over it sometimes)...selling the softwre without a licsnes is criminal tho ^_~
Until lobbying is a hanging offense I choose anarchy! Stop supporting big media and furthering the criminalization of consumers!! http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
That is why I get all my games from gamestop or from ebay or half.com, a sister site of ebay.com. But I look for 100% people on ebay or half to make sure other people have rated them and like their service. I don't buy games or that stuff off of craigslist. That would be a bad idea & anyone that buys games that HAVEN'T come out yet before the release date are idiots!
"It's better to be hated for who you are, then be loved for who you are not." - Montgomery Gentry
I find it kinda of nice that they're going after the guy who made the initial upload for a change. I find it hard to sympathize with a publisher that comes down hard on end users that just know how to download a torrent. On the other hand, i'm happy to see a guy incarcerated for stealing a physical copy, making n copies of it and then worst of all trying to sell those copies.
Lets just hope the justice system comes through and with more than a slap on the wrist but less than life ruining jail time.