Avatar Theft, or, who did you give your password to?

A recent e-mail came across my desk regarding identity theft, avatar theft and ransom (kidnapping?)

In a nutshell:

• Two 12 yr old boys spent almost two years creating avatars for an on-line game they played
• These boys gave their passwords to some older boys who promised to help improve the characters
• The older boys then used the passwords to ‘steal’ all of the hard earned attributes and change the avatars
• They then demanded ransom and gave the younger boys 24 hours to come up with 25 bucks to get their avatars back intact.
• The older boys also threatened physical harm to the younger boys if they did not turn over the computers

This occurred in Latah County, Idaho. To read the entire letter, come see me at the YA Help Desk at MPL.

Is this a crime and how do you feel about it? What would you do?