tl:dr ships got stolen, offered thief a way out. He refuse. Mandatory forum post.
Sharing this as its a good story :)
As .ORLY is merging with ICOL all our members have to move their assets over to new towers. In the middle of it all some ships go missing, bookmarks get deleted and someone leave two velators floating at one of the towers with POS password as name. Obviously someone took their chance. Now I have never understood thieves. The lust for a quick heist but wasting away potential friendships and community. At the end of the day, isk is only a means to put food on the table (or in eve: ships in your hangar). You go and ask a elderly gentleman what has mattered most to him in life. The answer will almost always be the people he shared his life with. For longer or for short periods. Just go and search on google for that matter. Almost everyone will name the people in their life as the most important aspects of their life. I take this philosophy with me in EVE. Not everyone does. Thats ok. But I do not understand those who put isk and a solo gameplay above potential friendships. Maybe they got enough friends in reallife and just want to take a piss in the game? I guess there are explanations, but that doesn't mean I understand them.
As it would happen I was home the day after the heist as my kid got sick. I really hate those kind of days as the kids get really restless when staying home, but a fever is a fever. But I logged on in the morning and the first thing I noticed was that all bookmarks was gone. This immidiatly set off all alarmbells. This was what happened when we got invaded in the 5-2. Our static was leading to the SSC home system, but surely they would have already reinforced all towers if they were invading. But no towers was reinforced. Ok. Not an invasion then. I start having a look around. Notice two velators floating at one of the members POS but think little of it. Then I start going through the members list. Who had been online since I logged off last night. Two people (beside some of my directors) it turns out. Zuzu Aqua was one of those two. Now there are two factors which immidiatly make me suspect Zuzu:
1. When applying his skills was perfectly set towards a combat pilot. No new character does that. Yet he claimed to be a new player. He did however have no isk transfers, 0 isk trades, contracts with assets, mails or odd contacts in contactlist that tied him up to any other character. In hindsight this should be enough to reject him, but we tried to not always think the worst of people. Beside, we have a decent secure setup that allows people to keep stuff safe.
2. He wasnt active. At all. He did not parttake in anything. After two weeks we originally terminated his membership due to inactivity, but he made a persuasive case for himself and said he had given notice he would be gone due to exams. So we gave him a little bit more time. The conversation was friendly and he seemed appreciative for a second chance so didnt think he would go all butthurt about it.
However when the bookmarks was deleted and he was one of two suspects (the other one is a decent guy who have been acitve and I really look forward to keep flying with). Zuzu is sat in Jita and his division in tower is empty. I immidiatly removed all his roles and got him blocked in alliance chat, forum and other stuff. The next day I get a convo from the other guy who had been online about ships that was missing. So now we are adding theft to the list. Guardian, Loki and a Ashimmu. However I want to give Zuzu a fair chance so I send him a mail.
From: calaretu
Sent: 2014.06.24 15:53
To: MD74, Zuzu Aqua,
Hey Zuzu. We had a theft in corp and would like you to reactivate api as we need to clear your name.
If you are innocent this shouldnt be a problem
If you are guilty we will give you a chance to refund the stolen goods
Failure to comply earns you a post on the forum (which will make your char unable to join most corps in eve)
- Calaretu
He replies friendly with his API and I start looking over it again. Not a single trade, isk transfer or anything else since before the theft. If he is the thief he has really outdone himself in covering his tracks. We had thieves before but this is certainly a new level of quality. There is just no hard evidence whatsoever. However there is also no other suspects. If there was he would have gotten away with it completely. Me and MD go back and forth about alternative possabilities, one of them could even lead to a diplomatic crisis with a corp we're friends with. However, we decide to have confront Zuzu and see what his reaction is. After all a thieves greatest enemy is himself. So we strike a convo. (If you as reader ever are in a similar position, make sure to have at least one witness you can trust with you in the conversation.)
As we are talking about it Zuzu log on. He greets in chat.
[ 2014.06.25 19:22:13 ] Zuzu Aqua > hey o/
[ 2014.06.25 19:22:19 ] Zuzu Aqua > found where the ships went?
I invite him to convo. The minutes pass. No reply. Then.
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:16 ] Zuzu Aqua > o/
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:23 ] calaretu > didnt you have any ships in retreat?
(in his API he only had two frigs and a rookie ship. that was all his assets)
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:48 ] Zuzu Aqua > i had navy vexor in SMA
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:51 ] Zuzu Aqua > in left hand
[ 2014.06.25 19:34:10 ] Zuzu Aqua > but when i logged on it wasnt there
[ 2014.06.25 19:34:49 ] calaretu > thing is. Only you and one other and directors was online during the time of the theft
(putting up our only piece of evidence right there. but he doesnt know that)
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:14 ] Zuzu Aqua > oh
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:20 ] Zuzu Aqua > who was it
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:52 ] calaretu > the one the ships was stolen form
[ 2014.06.25 19:36:29 ] Zuzu Aqua > oh
Now if he had kept his head calm here and kept the innocent act going I would have nothing. Nothing but a hunch and circumstances. And no connections to who was really behind the theft. However, I manage to trigger exactly what I was fishing for. His pride. His arrogance. The common denominator of all thieves. Their ego and sense of accomplishment. The same rush that spurs them to this way of gameplay is also their most common downfall. And in his pride he starts dragging in one character after another to the conversation. My circumstancial evidence was enough for him to call the act and start boasting.
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:28 ] Beliar Gray > interesting clue huh
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:33 ] Beliar Gray > oh noes
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:44 ] Beliar Gray > and yeah i know its petty thievery
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:52 ] Beliar Gray > im just lazy is all
And on and on he drags in characters. In the end I had noted down this list:
Zuzu Aqua
Zahard Ignis
Zula Terra
Gentaros
Beliar Gray (already used as scammer)
Ryan Aego
Ben Li
Pandorath (eve-search on this char turns up another alt: Arya Regnar)
Spryt3 (bought few years ago, ties up to Beliar Gray in purchase thread)
Veila Canus
Jewels04 (shows up a interesting fake auction with more alts)
All of them online at the same time. Thats at least 11 accounts running at once. Nwo many of these chars are clean so it baffles me that he shows his hand like this. Did we really trigger his lust for bragging that hard? Either that or he is framing some people. However, as he brought the chars into the chat I must say I am grateful for having him reveal by himself what I couldnt find proof of.
Seeing as he pulled this of nearly flawlessly I offer him to repay ships and in turn not mention this to anyone outside alliance. He refuse. So up goes the forum post Now I did not anticipate the respons to that post. But it gave me a good laugh. Usually you get the random npc corp chars that cry out about lack of proof, but this one actually got people from Pasta replying aswell. Well would you look at that. Apparantly Pasta even make claim to have been part of eviction in Bastion. Except they dont show up on any killmails.
Let me say this tho. I have nothing personal against Pasta. I love what they do and the content they create. I dont even have anything personal against Zuzu. But action has consequence. That goes both ways :)
Below is complete chatlog of the conversation that happened.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Channel ID: -61103543
Channel Name: Private Chat (alone)
Listener: calaretu
Session started: 2014.06.25 19:33:02
---------------------------------------------------------------
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:16 ] Zuzu Aqua > o/
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:23 ] calaretu > didnt you have any ships in retreat?
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:48 ] Zuzu Aqua > i had navy vexor in SMA
[ 2014.06.25 19:33:51 ] Zuzu Aqua > in left hand
[ 2014.06.25 19:34:10 ] Zuzu Aqua > but when i logged on it wasnt there
[ 2014.06.25 19:34:49 ] calaretu > thing is. Only you and one other and directors was online during the time of the theft
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:14 ] Zuzu Aqua > oh
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:20 ] Zuzu Aqua > who was it
[ 2014.06.25 19:35:52 ] calaretu > the one the ships was stolen form
[ 2014.06.25 19:36:29 ] Zuzu Aqua > oh
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:28 ] Beliar Gray > interesting clue huh
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:33 ] Beliar Gray > oh noes
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:44 ] Beliar Gray > and yeah i know its petty thievery
[ 2014.06.25 19:37:52 ] Beliar Gray > im just lazy is all
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:10 ] Zuzu Aqua > sorry MD
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:15 ] Zuzu Aqua > just my gank alt getting burnt
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:22 ] Zuzu Aqua > thats why all the gunnery
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:43 ] calaretu > I'll give you a option to keep the alt usefull
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:47 ] calaretu > repay the lost ships
[ 2014.06.25 19:38:54 ] Zuzu Aqua > useful in what way
[ 2014.06.25 19:39:05 ] calaretu > not being listed along with your main as corp thieves
[ 2014.06.25 19:39:29 ] calaretu > that char is worth more than you stole
[ 2014.06.25 19:39:39 ] calaretu > and selling it without stain would profit you more
[ 2014.06.25 19:40:13 ] MD74 > could have just done some scouting during anoms, and you would have earned a few bill
[ 2014.06.25 19:40:20 ] Gentaros > #1
[ 2014.06.25 19:41:15 ] Zahard Ignis > #2
[ 2014.06.25 19:41:17 ] MD74 > give that guy his ships back man
[ 2014.06.25 19:41:22 ] Zuzu Aqua > #3
[ 2014.06.25 19:42:16 ] Zula Terra > #4
[ 2014.06.25 19:42:25 ] MD74 > so, whats your point here
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:06 ] Ryan Aego > #5
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:34 ] Beliar Gray > they all have 1 thing in common
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:37 ] Beliar Gray > corp thiefs
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:40 ] Beliar Gray > awoxers
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:44 ] Beliar Gray > infiltrators
[ 2014.06.25 19:43:45 ] Beliar Gray > spies
[ 2014.06.25 19:44:18 ] Beliar Gray > the ones starting with Z were made on the same day
[ 2014.06.25 19:44:46 ] Beliar Gray > infiltration wasnt the end purpose
[ 2014.06.25 19:44:48 ] MD74 > shame, i thought all slovenians were nice people
[ 2014.06.25 19:44:50 ] Beliar Gray > just an extra
[ 2014.06.25 19:45:22 ] MD74 > end purpose was getting away with a few bil in ships?
[ 2014.06.25 19:45:35 ] Beliar Gray > well
[ 2014.06.25 19:45:40 ] Beliar Gray > i dont really have much time atm
[ 2014.06.25 19:45:57 ] Beliar Gray > and i cant use these chars without linking them to me
[ 2014.06.25 19:46:05 ] MD74 > just give that guy his few ships back and find a better target
[ 2014.06.25 19:46:06 ] Beliar Gray > beliar is as burnt as it gets
[ 2014.06.25 19:47:00 ] Ben Li > and dudes said its ok to piss a few people off
[ 2014.06.25 19:47:41 ] MD74 > you didnt piss off people, you just took a few ships from a guy who didnt deserve that
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:00 ] Beliar Gray > mehh
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:10 ] Beliar Gray > you sent me password by accident
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:13 ] Beliar Gray > Peanuts
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:26 ] Beliar Gray > i had access to that pos and all in freely accessible SMA before
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:36 ] Beliar Gray > just sucks i actually had no time sooner
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:44 ] Beliar Gray > you have decent security
[ 2014.06.25 19:48:58 ] Beliar Gray > if i was gona pass on to ICOL i wasnt getting anything
[ 2014.06.25 19:49:11 ] Pandorath > and i knew that
[ 2014.06.25 19:49:54 ] MD74 > so you settled for Tineoidea Asanari his few ships
[ 2014.06.25 19:50:14 ] Pandorath > well
[ 2014.06.25 19:50:25 ] Pandorath > and the ships in that other pos
[ 2014.06.25 19:50:38 ] Pandorath > jamgu and 2 guardians or sth
[ 2014.06.25 19:51:25 ] Spryt3 > 2.8b isnt a good theft
[ 2014.06.25 19:51:29 ] Spryt3 > http://i.imgur.com/cXBudFN.jpg this is a good theft
[ 2014.06.25 19:51:51 ] calaretu > haha. true that
[ 2014.06.25 19:52:57 ] Velia Canus > i was considering finding a better target
[ 2014.06.25 19:53:03 ] Velia Canus > but i had a c5>c5>hs
[ 2014.06.25 19:53:14 ] Velia Canus > and enough characters to fly it all out in 1 go
[ 2014.06.25 19:53:50 ] Velia Canus > it doesnt matter if you make a post for each one separately
[ 2014.06.25 19:54:26 ] Velia Canus > i always do it with clean alts or help friends that need my skills
[ 2014.06.25 19:55:20 ] MD74 > i dont give a damn about your chars man, you are just showing off here, bragging a bit. if this is how you like to play the game, then thats your choice. but im right about one thing; this game reflects how people are in rl. and you must be one big soab
[ 2014.06.25 19:55:36 ] MD74 > with a small penis
[ 2014.06.25 19:59:24 ] Jewels04 > k
[ 2014.06.25 19:59:41 ] Jewels04 > i hit you mainly because c5 and CFC are runing eve
[ 2014.06.25 19:59:46 ] Jewels04 > easy isk farm
[ 2014.06.25 19:59:57 ] Jewels04 > well incursions too
[ 2014.06.25 20:00:04 ] Jewels04 > but you dont make 600m/h there
[ 2014.06.25 20:03:18 ] Ben Li > enjoy your sleepers
[ 2014.06.25 20:03:26 ] Ben Li > i dont give a fuck
