What is the Penalty for Spreading Viruses as a Minor?

[Bob]

Someone gave a virus to this kid and the hacker got his Runescape and Facebook password. The hacker is a minor and the only damage caused was the 15mil taken from the victim. If victim were to call the cops, no VPN, what would happen to the hacker? Both people in same Country too. And no this is not me, it's for my friend.

[Sam C]

I don't think the police or the FBI would care about the compromised security of your free to play MMO account. You .. or your "friend" whatever are probably safe. That being said, it's a douchy thing to do. Pick harder passwords and don't share accounts.

[purringsong239]

Even as a minor, spreading viruses is serious stuff according to the law. Unless your friend is smarter than the smartest FBI/CIA/Homeland Security agent in the business, s/he is going to run into a lot of legal trouble.

[MichaelK]

First off, you have to prove that a crime took place, which, in a case like this, isn't as easy as it sounds. Then you have to prove that the person you suspect (yes, suspect, this is America, we have a system) is the criminal party. I can tell you right now that you wouldn't be able to.

[Samuel]

Though being a Minor, Virus Spreading n Web is really a serious crime. It is under Cyber Crime and I think this should be punishable by law. But you can consult with some professional Solicitors or lawyers for resolving this issue. Wish you and your friend - Luck.!

[Tom V]

Runescape, if they were notified and could verify the hack, might disable or cancel the hacker's account. Meaning the 15mil that was taken would be of no use. I don't know if they would return the 15mil to your friend. I doubt the cops are going to care too much, considering that they are dealing with cyber attacks on banks and government agencies, which would obviously get priority.