EVE Online Player Pulls Off Massive In-Game IPO Scam
EVE Online player Curzon Dax scammed investors out of 374.4 billion ISK, the sci-fi-themed, subscription-based MMORPG's currency, with an in-game IPO that promised to reward backers with high returns and expensive ships before the player left the game.
CCP Games's EVE Online is no stranger to controversy, as its player-driven economy and corporation/alliance structure have been the source of several high-profile but fascinating virtual heists and wars. In fact, it's this open, lawless setting that's helped attract so many devoted users to the MMORPG.
While Dax's ISK haul is likely less than the hundreds of billions stolen by the player-run EVE Intergalactic Bank in 2007, it's more than four times what Dynasty Banking (80 billion ISK), another player-run in-game bank, embezzled in January of this year. Comparing the amount to current ISK rates at third-party real money trading services, 374.4 billion ISK would fetch around $14,601 in real-world money.
Dax held an in-game and forum reputation of owning lavish and expensively outfitted ships, according to a report from Massively. He admits that he was worth far less than what many presumed: "To be honest, I've never been worth hundreds of billions of ISK, as most folks think I was. I've been a billionaire, but never the fantastically rich person that I've made myself out to be. It was just an image."
As part of his scam, he took advantage of his visibility, perceived worth, and so-far spotless reputation to raise 50 billion ISK, promising a 200 percent return to backers after a year. As he launched the IPO last September, Dax also revealed he planned to stop playing EVE Online after losing interest in the MMORPG. He waited until Christmas day to reveal that the IPO was a scam and had netted much more than the initial investment amount.
"My initial 50 billion ISK offering got me a list of investors," the player explains. "Over the following weeks and months, I got in touch with most of them in person (in addition to other people) and worked out private deals, where each person thought that they were going to privately fund a 'shortage' in my IPO in exchange for one of my officer-fit ships."
He continues, "The bulk of my fund-raising came from that. There's a lot of folks who think that they're getting an officer-fit Golem, or a Paladin, or a CNR, or a Guardian-Vexor today." Dax says he spent 250 billion of the ISK he received on in-game ship modifications and doesn't intend to keep the leftover 124 billion ISK.
"While I'm leaving EVE ... all the wealth and officer gear I've acquired isn't going to waste - an unidentified recipient who knows who he/she is already is going to get... well, everything," he revealed. "They've worked hard to make EVE a great game, and my riches are going to be a salary for them that is long overdue, although they're probably rich enough already to make it pointless."
