An alleged scammer is on the loose in Second Life. Many people have reported that they’ve bought celebrity skins from small vendors at the cost of L$2500–3000, only to find the box empty.

Ey Ren is among those who feel cheated. ”I thought I’d bought a Legolas shape. But alas, the box was empty,” Ren said. (Legolas is an elf character in J.R.R. Tolkien's series, Lord of the Rings.) Ren sent an an Instant Message to the creator and received a reply saying that heavy lag affects rezzing, and that he should test it somewhere else. ”But rezzing the box other places didn’t help, I replied, and kept insisting on that it was empty,” Ren said.

Ren soon learned that other people had been cheated as well. Ren, owner of Muse Mall, leased vendors to the skin seller, and was contacted by people who’d seen his group in her profile. He banned her from the mall and thereby seized her vendors as a proof of the scam. Ren also put up a warning sign in front of the vendors, saying this was a scam.

When he threatened with reporting the creator to Linden Lab for fraud, he was told she only sold these skins on commission, and she gave him the name of her boss.

”But I checked that name’s profile, and it’s almost empty. Not exactly a boss’ profile,” Ren said. He’s also checked the vendor, and it says clearly that the alleged scammer is the creator of the empty boxes. Her name is also listed as ”Creator” of the texture pictures on the vendor. ”My guess is that she’s photographed some ’real’ celebrity skin, and then pretending to be selling them,” Ren said.

A few hours after SLNN spoke with Ren and photographed him in front of the scam vendors, the vendors had disappeared. ”Most probably, she’s zoomed in on them from the neighboring sim,” Ren said. ”I find this to be quite revealing.”

”What she should’ve done, after I first took contact, was to come here, check my story, and then give me a box with content. That’s what any serious business person would have done,” Ren said.

Mixy Houston is another who rented out shop space to the skin seller and bought an empty box. She then sent an IM to all the groups the alleged scammer belongs to. ”And now I’m talking to lots of people with the same experience,” Houston said.

She’s also been in contact with the woman. The answer was that she’d get her money back, but so far that hasn’t happened. Houston was also told that the celebrity skins were sold on commission. ”But I’ve spoken to someone who says it’s impossible to give commissions through the vendor.”

The alleged scammer, identified as Brenda Balczo, would not reply to instant messages SLNN sent while she was online. The avatar she claimed was her boss did not respond to messages either.

News update: Since this story was filed, scam victim Ey Ren reported that Balczo has been weaving a new tale, telling scammed customers that Ren is her "boss." Ren, known in SL circles as a highly respected and well-liked builder, artist and businessman, urges victims to file abuse reports quickly. Balczo belongs to 15 groups, but has no photo in her profile.