[KaVir]

Here's an interesting one: Dutch police arrest teenage online furniture thief - Yahoo! News UK

"Dutch police have made their first arrest of an online thief...the teenager was accused of stealing 4,000 euros (2,833 pounds) worth of virtual furniture by hacking into the accounts of other users."

And: Dutch teen swipes furniture from virtual hotel | The Register

"police say the suspects will be charged with "hacking and burglary"".

The hacking (cracking) I can understand...but a burglary charge?

[Brody]

Wow. Burglary? REALLY? I could understand hacking. I could understand petty theft. But I've always understood burglary to require a physical intrusion (rather than a virtual one). Interesting.

[bridgette]

I know the concept of virtual ownership has been discussed before, but how does this fit in:

You have money in a bank account. It is nothing more than a database entry. If somebody hacks into that database and transfers some of your money into his own account, would that not also be burglary?

Technically, you own that money, eventhough it is virtual only (but can be converted into something real).

[Brody]

Originally Posted by bridgette I know the concept of virtual ownership has been discussed before, but how does this fit in: You have money in a bank account. It is nothing more than a database entry. If somebody hacks into that database and transfers some of your money into his own account, would that not also be burglary? Technically, you own that money, eventhough it is virtual only (but can be converted into something real).

It's not really burglary. At least, to my understanding, burglary involves a physical entrance into a building or vehicle.

Hacking is hacking. Illegal transfer of funds would be grand theft or petty theft, depending on the amount. I don't see how a virtual crime like this counts as burglary.

[bridgette]

I guess you are right. Here are some definitions:


entering a building unlawfully with intent to commit a felony or to steal valuable property
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Burglary - also called breaking and entering - is a crime related to theft or another crime. It typically involves someone breaking into a house, business, boat, or motor vehicle with an intent to commit a crime. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglary
Interesting they should choose to charge the kid with burglary then, indeed...

[Baram]

Perhaps it's a miss translation. I know in Korean there are some Korean words that have many different English meanings, perhaps that is the case here. For example, I watched a movie with my wife that was good but sad. When I asked her what she thought about it, she said, "It was funny." because in Korean funny and enjoyable are the same word.