Ten men in China have received prison sentences for purchasing and profiting off of 11,500 compromised World of Warcraft accounts.
According to a report by Zhejiang Online, Chen, the ringleader, will serve two years behind bars and pay an $8,000 fine, while his cohorts will serve less than two years in jail and each pay a $1,000 fine.
The men did not perform the hijacking themselves, but instead purchased the login information in underground market websites for $1 per account. Once they had access, the miscreants profited by selling the gold and gaming accessories associated with each account for roughly $3 a piece.
The profit totaled at least $10,800, according to the report. With close to 7.6 million users, World of Warcraft is one of the most popular online role-playing games, according to a November earning report.
