Linden: 150% fraud penalty applies to exchanges, not residents
By Eric Reuters
The 150% penalty for purchasing fraudulent currency is directed primarily at third-party currency exchanges, representatives for Linden Lab told Reuters on Thursday.
“The policy stated at http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/api/risk seems to have caused some confusion,” said Peter Gray of Lewis PR, Linden Lab’s public relations firm. “The policy stated at the above webpage is directed at operators of Linden dollar exchanges; if Linden Lab identifies that the operators of these exchanges have purposefully purchased fraudulent L$, Linden Lab may recoup 150% of the amount.”
“To date, this fine has never been levied,” Gray said.
On Wednesday, Linden Lab urged residents on its blog not to purchase Linden dollars from unknown third-parties, as some vendors may be selling game currency purchased with stolen credit cards.
In response to Linden’s announcement it would “recoup” fraudulent currency, Tateru Nino of Massively.com imagined how gifting a resident bad currency could be used as a griefing tactic.
“Being in receipt of fraudulent funds requires no action on your part,” Nino wrote. “Someone can send you Linden Dollars that were purchased through (eg) a fake credit card number, and you cannot prevent it. Your account will likely be suspended, and you’ll end up paying half again what you unknowingly received.”
Nino’s story was picked up on Wired.com.
Gray downplayed the risk to residents. “Linden Lab has no blanket policy to fine all buyers of fraudulent Linden dollars, and any incident is handled on a case by case basis,” Gray said.
He urged third-party currency exchanges to enroll in Linden Lab’s Exchange Risk API. “The fine policy applies to transactions in which fraudulent L$ were purchased and the Exchange Risk API was not used; it does not apply should the Exchange Risk API return a result indicating an acceptable risk,” Gray said.
