Analysis Of The Criminal Law Characterization Of The Act Of Stealing Virtual Property Of Online Games And Making Profits

At the same time as online games are booming,perpetrators take various illegal methods for the purpose of obtaining monetary benefits,for example,obtaining the account and password of game users and illegally transferring their online game virtual property,and some criminal cases that illegally enter the service system of game operation enterprises to steal online game equipment,online game currency and other online game virtual property in an improper way,and sell for improper benefits,have increasingly become high-incidence cases in practice.Because the current criminal law and judicial interpretations do not clarify the criminal law attributes of online game virtual property,that is,whether its legal attribute is property or data,and the theory of computer-type crime is vague,resulting in cases of stealing online game virtual property and making profits in practice,there will be cases where the crimes prosecuted by the procuratorate,the defender’s defense point of view,and the crimes finally determined by the judicial organs are not the same,and the criminal law characterization of this behavior has always become a difficult point in judicial practice.This paper conducts a qualitative study on the act of stealing virtual property of online games and making profits,mainly including the study of the basic theory of this behavior,the definition of the concept of virtual property of online games,etc.,and then the concept of stealing virtual property of online games and making profits;and then taking the precedents on this behavior in practice as the starting point,through the analysis of this precedent,the legislative provisions of the relevant crimes involved in the behavior and the dilemma of judicial application are introduced;and finally,the legal analysis of the theft of virtual property of online games and the act of making profits is carried out.To clarify whether this act meets the constituent elements of the crime in dispute,the final conclusion is that the most effective way to criminally protect the virtual property of online games is to identify its legal attributes as data in the computer,convict such acts constituting a crime by illegally obtaining computer information systems,and then impose a penalty,which is not only conducive to protecting the network environment,but also conforms to the basic principles of criminal law.It is hoped that through the qualitative study of stealing virtual property of online games and making profits,it is hoped that a more suitable solution can be provided for solving such cases in practice.