AFC CHALLENGES metaverse that cater to adult entertainment . Players have complained they do not verify ages and secretly record avatars when role-playing to extort them . If they do verify identities , they ask players to send pictures of identification and then use this information to extort them into making videos and selling them . Skipping age verification is extremely concerning as predators have a direct line to vulnerable young people playing games within virtual worlds . The platforms themselves can potentially verify age prior to adding something to the avatar , suggesting that they are over 18 , which could lead to targeting children . See the case study below for a recent example of a predator luring a child into the physical world by using virtual reality . This can also be potentially concerning for online child sexual exploitation ( OCSE ) and the making of child sexual abuse materials ( CSAM ).
Recently , there have been reports of harassment and sexual assault within virtual reality ( VR ) platforms . A woman alleged that a group of male avatars surrounded her and groped her avatar while taking selfies . 1 As the metaverse is an immersive virtual experience , acts of violence and harassment seem real and will likely have lasting psychological effects . In addition to gangs committing virtual sexual assault , a user uncovered a secret cult dedicated to grooming minors named the Dark Guild . The goal of the self-identified cult leader was to convince minors to go out into the physical world and commit murders . For now , it seems the cult has disbanded , but this is definitely a space to watch because of the pseudo-anonymity of an avatar and invitation-only chat rooms .
Case study
In December 2022 , a 26-year-old man was arrested in Utah for abducting a 13-year-old boy . 2 They met on VRChat , a virtual world , and continued speaking on Roblox . The adult convinced the child to meet in real life . The man , known online as Hunter Fox , tweeted about “ spending his life ” with someone , not naming whom . It is assumed that he was speaking of the child he allegedly abducted . He had enticed and groomed the child by using gaming platforms , specifically virtual worlds . For now , he is charged with kidnapping and resisting arrest . This case demonstrates that predators can exploit gaming platforms and virtual worlds to entice and lure children to meet them in the physical world , having consequences beyond a computer screen .
In addition to harmful sexual exploitation and gang activity , the physical world is at risk of increased gamification of extremism . There currently is a debate around violent video games and real-life mass shooters and extremists . In the past , mass shooters have sometimes been gamers that participated in violent video games . In the case of the Christchurch , New Zealand attack in 2019 , the assailant live-streamed the attack , mirroring “ let ’ s play ” videos where players tape themselves playing a video game . 3 The aspect of immersive realism may potentially create a space where violent individuals “ train ” for real-life attacks or lose track of real versus virtual life and commit acts of violence . Although this is widely debated , it is still important to consider when assessing potential threats .
Opportunities for crime in the future
A recent report by Trend Micro alluded to several crimes that may be potentially committed in the metaverse . The report describes an unindexed , or not searchable , part of the metaverse , otherwise known as the darkverse . It is the virtual reality version of the dark web yet more dangerous due to “ the pseudo physical presence ” it offers . 4 The darkverse contains criminal underground marketplaces that can be accessed using specific tokens , making it extremely difficult for law enforcement ( LE ) to infiltrate and bypass strong privacy and security protocols . 5 These darkverse marketplaces can conduct sales like dark web markets do , except avatars will be able to virtually shop for illicit products and services , mimicking a real-life marketplace . The “ cyberphysical ” nature of threats can open new doors for criminals and terrorists to exploit victims . 6 In addition to illicit products being sold , other potential crimes may include : 7
• Selling targeted non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ) with malware embedded for fraudulent purposes and phishing schemes
• Utilizing protected rooms , avatars will need to access from a specific location or use specialized authentication tokens
• Laundering money using virtual real estate , NFTs or luxury fashion for avatars
• Spreading propaganda and misinformation
• Targeting victims using specific social engineering tactics
• Robbing avatars and their virtual wallets by using cyberattacks
• Manipulating markets by creating tokens and using pump-and-dump schemes
• Planning attacks in a secure virtual meeting room from locations across the globe
• Stealing identities , avatars and other personally identifiable information ( PII ) data
The list above shows potential risks on the horizon within a virtual world . At the end of 2022 , Interpol announced it was entering the metaverse . Although Interpol is currently focused on virtually training officers , in the future , there may be potential for a virtual global police force . Policing and monitoring a virtual world opens up an
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