What would you do if someone put a gun to your head and demanded that you hand over all your RuneScape gold?
Fordham University students David Emani and Jonathan Dokler found out first hand when they were robbed of 4.7 billion RuneScape coins at gunpoint. Fellow student Humza Bajwa first attempted to buy the coins from the pair with an envelope full of counterfeit money. When confronted about the fake cash, Bajwa then put an air pistol that resembled a real firearm to Emani's head and ordered him to phone Dokler and tell him to transfer the coins.
Though the gun wasn't a real firearm and only virtual property was stolen, Bajwa was later arrested by local police and charged with second-degree robbery and grand larceny. RuneScape developer Jagex doesn't condone the sale of coins for cash, but sales aren't illegal and the stolen coins could fetch around $3,300 US on the black market. In January, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that a similar theft of virtual property in RuneScape at knifepoint did constitute theft as the items required an investment of time and energy to acquire. If convicted, Bajwa faces a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years for his crimes.
Call me a pussy then, but if someone had an air pistol at my head I would have happily transferred the entire Watchers bank wherever they wanted (and dealt with it later). Was worth about $30k at the time I was leader.
