The Consumer Council today (May 14) announced the launch of a publicity campaign to warn fans of online games the perils of addiction, theft and abuses liable to criminal sanction.
In a new initiative, a concern group has been formed to spearhead an awareness drive on the problem among the public and in particular the young.
The group is joined, in addition to the Consumer Council, by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, and the Breakthrough organisation.
It is backed also by the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police, and the Information Technology Services Department.
A special report was produced, for publication in the latest (May) issue of CHOICE, dealing comprehensively with the online gaming problem together with a package of recommendations for all concerned - players, parents and game developers - as a prelude to the campaign kickoff.
Police statistics on technology crimes clearly demonstrate the need for preventive action on online gaming abuses. In 2003, nearly half (288) of all technology crimes (588) were related to online video games.
For the first quarter of 2004, the problem appears to ease slightly but still a sizeable one, with 52 out of 132 cases for the period.
In one recent case, a 15-year-old boy was sentenced to 4 months in a rehabilitation centre on conviction of a charge of access to computer with criminal dishonest intent.
In another, 2 teenagers, both aged 16, were placed on probation order for 18 months on conviction of a similar charge.
In all of these cases, the culprits were complained of stealing virtual weapons through hacking into computer for access into the accounts of online game players.
With rising popularity, many online games offer virtual weapons or treasure which are objects of virtual world property valuable to the game players. Players will constantly strive for the next weapon or treasure in order to gain to a higher level of the game.
The problem is a complex one but the desire for the acquisition of more virtual weapons and the like does tend to encourage online fans to play an online game excessively for long amount of time - with potential dire consequences of loss of self-control, theft and abuses liable to criminal sanction.
The object of the campaign is, therefore, to promote and enhance public awareness of the severity of the problem and the importance of information security.
In the special report, online game fans are warned in no uncertain terms that any act of hacking into a computer system for online game access without the consent of the other party, to steal virtual weapons or the like, constitutes a serious criminal offence.
In the case of "access to computer with criminal dishonest intent", for instance, the offence carries no less a penalty than a maximum imprisonment term of five years.
Besides theft, for instance, a player undertakes to score a certain amount of "virtual points" and transfer the points to the other party in exchange for monetary reward. Should the player fail to honour this promise, and if it can be proved that he or she has the intent to cheat, this may constitute an offence of obtaining money by deception.
Some game players, on the other hand, may regard objects of virtual world property to be unreal and attach little or no value to them.
Carelessly, they share online game account with partners or friends, forget to properly logoff the account after playing in a cyber cafe, divulge User ID or Password in online chatroom, download plug-in programmes from unknown sources containing hacking programme such as Trojan Horse.
Such behaviour serves to create opportunities that invite abuses and crimes to be committed.
The report also contains a package of recommendation in a three-pronged approach to address the issue from the perspectives of the players, the parents, and the game developers.
The Players
- Avoid choosing online games that are vulnerable to theft of virtual weapon/treasure. Install and upgrade firewall and anti-virus protection from time to time. Never download software from unknown sources.
- Do not over-indulge in online gaming. Steer clear of any circumstances that may lead to hacking, theft or deception.
- Manage your online game account with due care. Do not choose a password such as "123456" that could be easily guessed; do not divulge the code to another party and change it regularly.
- When playing in a cyber cafe, be careful of being watched for access into your account. Always logoff even if just for a brief break away from the computer. If the previous player forgot to logoff the account, do not help yourself to continue to play the game as this is illegal and liable to criminal sanction.
- Should you discover any of your virtual weapon or treasure has been stolen, immediately report to the game developer who will generally be able to trace the cause. If the matter involves criminal offences, report to the Police.
The Parents
- Help your children to choose games with appropriate safety design that will best minimise the chance of theft.
- Watch out for any sign of addiction in online games ; set time limits for your children, and guide them to recognise the difference between the virtual world and the real world.
- Young children may not be aware of the hazards of online game crimes; parental guidance is needed to ensure they do not perpetrate or fall victim to such crimes.
The Game Developers
- Clear warning should be labelled on the package of online game software, drawing attention to criminal sanction of online theft. The same warning should appear also on the computer screen at the start of the game.
- Improve security for the game design: virtual weapon or treasure should be assigned a unique serial number which could be traced in the event of loss or theft; a sufficiently long storage period of all transaction records should be allowed for the information of the players.
- Register personal data of the players, that include an email address capable of being traced to screen out the unscrupulous with false information.
Other activities also in the pipeline as part of the campaign include an extensive survey into the behaviour and all aspects of the problem among the young online game players, and indepth case study of players. The results of this research will be released to the public next Friday (May 21).
In addition, a seminar with a panel experts will be held for the participation of the public the following day on Saturday (May 22).
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