Who didn't see this coming?
Some intrepid "Pokémon GO" players have found ways to catch all different types of Pokémon without moving an inch. This technique is called "spoofing," and those who are doing it are receiving soft (or temporary) bans from the game.
The concept of "spoofing" is simple: trick the game's GPS sensors into thinking you're somewhere else. How do you do that? By hacking your phone and installing shady apps, or illegitimately loading the game on a computer. In so many words: it's not something you want to do.
This was reported by Polygon, and several players are giving testimonials about their experiences after gaming the system on Reddit. It's not totally clear exactly how long the bans last, but people in that Reddit thread are reporting that they last no more than a few hours. During that time, players cannot interact with Pokéstops, catch Pokémon, or engage in gym battles. Bummer.
Considering those are the only three things you can do in "Pokémon GO," that's a fairly significant penalty for cheating. It's also pretty fair; the game's developers were certainly aware this would happen, and since GPS spoofing to get different Pokémon shouldn't negatively affect other players in any meaningful way, a virtual slap on the wrist will do the trick.
If you're wondering why people would cheat at "Pokémon GO," players in that Reddit thread point out that the game experience is significantly hampered for those with physical disabilities and those who live in sparsely-populated areas. These are serious issues, and developer Niantic should address them as soon as possible to discourage cheating.
Of course, spoofing isn't the only way people are exploiting "Pokémon GO," albeit without exactly breaking the rules. Some people are attaching their phones to drones in order to hit as many Pokéstops as possible without walking. One woman in New York City is charging $20 per hour to play the game for other people.
On top of that, people are almost assuredly buying and selling accounts with high-level Pokémon in them, which is common in online video games like this. Those people are definitely acting against the spirit of the game; the fun part of "Pokémon GO" is the experience of walking around your neighborhood and seeing other people of all stripes enjoy themselves as they hunt for Pokémon.
Hopefully Niantic is able to crack down on those who choose to make the game less fun for themselves and those around them. Without the joy of interacting with other people, "Pokémon GO" loses a ton of its appeal.
On February 28, Axel Springer, Business Insider's parent company, joined 31 other media groups and filed a $2.3 billion suit against Google in Dutch court, alleging losses suffered due to the company's advertising practices.
