‘Eve Online’ heist sees thieves steal in-game currency worth £17,900

An Eve Online player has stolen in-game currency worth £17,904 ($22,309), thanks to a heist in the online role-playing game (MMORPG) that took several weeks to pull off.

As detailed in this Reddit post (via PC Gamer), user Flam_Hill recounted how they stole trillions of in-game currency from a spacefaring corporation.

Flam explained that by “pure chance” they came into ownership of 1000 shares for Event Horizon Expeditionaires (EHE), a 299-member corporation in the game that was a member of the much larger Pandemic Horde.

The user realised they could “take advantage” of the situation, and teamed up with another Eve Online player to find a way to take over the corporation using Flam’s shares.

After noting “minimal activity” from the corporation’s CEO and board of directors, the pair launched “Operation Yours Is Mine” — a plan to infiltrate the company and eventually call a vote to replace EHE’s CEO.

After creating new Eve Online accounts and spending over a week being vetted for the corporation, both schemers were accepted. After more time spent observing the corporation, Flam transferred their shares to the new account and used them to call a vote, asking for a new CEO.

This was where Flam and their partner took a gamble — if any leadership was active enough to vote no, their plan would have been foiled. However, three days passed and nobody noticed, which allowed Flam’s new account to become CEO.

With that power, they made their real account a director of EHE, removed the rest of the corporation’s leadership from their roles, and set about emptying EHE’s coffers.

Flam claimed to have looted 130billion of in-game Isk currency from the company wallet, and estimated the heist’s total value at 2.230 Trillion isk — which they place at being worth £17,924, as it can be used to purchase the Plex currency that can be bought with real-world money.

Speaking to PC Gamer, developer CCP confirmed the heist took place but did not comment on the heist’s estimated value.

“Eve is beautiful game; it is a harsh game as well and in that its true greatness,” summarised Flam_Hill. “The well-being and security of a Corporation or Alliance lies in the management of its leadership, the activity of those members is paramount. This heist would was made possible by really only two things, I had come into the shares by pure chance and EHEXP leadership barely registered a heartbeat.”

In other gaming news, EA Sports has announced it will invest £8million in grassroots football across the world.