not real money.. i think it's just their time and effort and when they play, and sell, trade, etc with their characters, they gain money and different things... so for someone to steal it, it probably shatters a gamer's world. just because they do spend so much time on it!!
i know people ADDICTED to WoW... not my kind of thing, but they are very into it..
it's like... if you spent hours and hours decorating your house for christmas or hallowe'en, had it looking brilliant, and some brat came and tore stuff down and ruined it.. it'd make you angry! the time wasted.
that type of thing. they sit there for hours...lol. kind of like a lot of us on here! LOL.