Cybercrime Unit Says Animal Crossing Not for Adults

[mike_intellivision]

Original story: http://www.kmiz.com/news/story.php?id=13725

Wii Gamers Vulnerable To Crime
Young children receiving inappropriate contact through a variety of Internet based games and programs.



Story written by Jacqueline Lapine
Story posted on March 11, 2009

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If your kids play interactive video games, like the Nintendo Wii, be on the lookout. The Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force is warning of predators using games like, "Animal Crossing- City Folk," to target kids.


Using the game you create a character and create your own town and house. When hooked up to the internet you can talk to anyone across the country. Kids playing the game have no control over what other players might be saying. For example, the character we ran across could be the man in California police are warning about.


"There is no reason an adult should have this game," says Andy Anderson, Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force.


Anderson says adults playing "animal crossing" and similar games are likely doing it for the wrong reasons.


You probably have told your kids never to talk to strangers, but when playing, the heart of the game is building relationships with the animals in your town as well as other players. To really reach the next level, the game urges you to exchange letters, gifts, and favors.


Anderson says it is going to take parents paying attention to keep this problem from exploding.


"The equipment is real expensive and we cannot afford to buy all of the systems and do not have the resources either to examine all of the possibilities," Anderson explains.


Right now, we only know of the three Missouri children who have been contacted. Anderson says this is not something to be paranoid about, but to be aware.


This warning includes any web-based game that allows instant messaging or voice-over IP.

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My comments

Change "likely playing it" to "maybe playing it" ..."for the wrong reasons" and he may have a point.

I had a wolf come into my son's town on the Wii and either his name was "Horny" or he used it to describe himself. It was odd and luckily since my son is not yet fulling reading (he is 6), I didn't have to explain anything.

That being said, Nintendo's oft-criticized system makes it very difficult to actually know who you are playing with ... unless you already knew them. How three Missouri children were contacted -- and on what games -- would be good to know.

In some ways, this reminds me of the scare over the "potential" that Pictochat could be used for unsavory things on the DS -- and the inventive "journalists" who showed the range sometimes was more than the advertised 30 feet (9 meters) and could sometimes reach 200 feet (60 meters).

I also love how they said they don't have the resources to buy all the systems and to examine all the possibilities. My guess is that they could probably buy all the systems and games that would be most likely to be "exploited" for the price of a good laptop ($1500-$2000) -- so if they were really interested or concerned about this they would find ways to make it happen.

Mike from Morgantown