Gold Farmer Sues Over Stolen Real-Life Gold

A woman in Australia who used her World of Warcraft gold farming profits to buy real gold bullion is suing her insurance company for refusing to pay up after it was stolen.

Kristina Fincham was a very successful gold farmer in World of Warcraft, operating a business mining virtual gold and then selling it to other players for real cash. So successful, in fact, that she was able to buy 74 bars of real gold bullion worth roughly $74,500 with the proceeds. It seems a bit bizarre but all was apparently well until March 2008, when the gold was stolen from her home.

But Fincham's insurance company refused to pay up for the loss because it claimed the whole thing was staged in order to cash in on the policy. "Ms. Fincham was not covered for any loss caused by, or arising from, fraud or fraudulent means used by her or anyone acting on her behalf," the company said.

The insurance company wouldn't budge, so Fincham filed a lawsuit seeking $75,000. A trial date will be set in May and lawyers for both sides say the case is expected to make it to trial because neither side is likely to settle.

What's the lesson here? Well, gold farming pays, for one thing, and gold, as pointed out by a reader at the Gamer/Law blog, is a solid investment. But I think lesson number three is the one we should all take to heart: don't pile up your big stash of solid gold bars in the laundry room. That's just asking for trouble.

Source: Adelaide Now