Hackers may attack online game accounts

Players of online games face the risk that their accounts may be hacked into and their valuable contents stolen, Microsoft warned this week.

According to Reuters, Microsoft security development engineer Dave Weinstein told attendees at the company's GameFest video game development conference that sophisticated new hacking techniques might mean that players of online games like "EverQuest," "World of Warcraft," "City of Heroes" and others could see their accounts stripped bare.

The idea is that hackers would be able to steal account information and use it to break into users' accounts. Then, with that access, the hackers could sell off the weapons, clothing, armor and other virtual goods in those accounts.

Virtual goods from such games can be worth hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. And all told, the worldwide market for such assets has been estimated to be as high as $880 million.

"Those of you who are working on massively multiplayer online games, organized crime is already looking at you," Weinstein said, according to Reuters. "For a lot of the customers out there, there is more store value on their (online games) characters than there is on the credit card with which they pay for the account.

The problem could get worse once someone is robbed in this fashion, Weinstein said, if victims try to get help from authorities.

"The police are really good at understanding 'Someone stole my credit card and ran up a lot of money,'" Weinstein told Reuters. "It's a lot harder to get them to buy into 'someone stole my magic sword.'"