Caught for no apparent reason

[jksghvwq]

I don't know if I'm experiencing a bug or a feature. This is over Steam, 1.54STEAM in the bottom right corner.

I've gone through two games now, and I've lost them both early, due to getting caught for bank fraud.

Let me begin by stating that I've played this game before, but never over Steam before now. Also, not especially recently. Several patches back. Before LANs were implemented. I understand the concept of deleting logs, and that I was using v4 of the log deleter in each case. Not only do I do this on Internic, which is my first bounce, but also on the Uplink Test Server, several bounces further down. I'm not getting caught at anything except bank fraud, so this really isn't a log tracing issue.

The reason I wonder whether it's a bug is because the first time it happened, it was a bank I had never heard of, and had never touched. It was not, in fact, in my list of hosts at all.

The second time I was caught by a bank I had hacked, but I'm about 95% certain I got away with it. I think there might be another problem here, though.

In this case, after I had hacked Bank A, transferred a million credits to my account at Bank B (neither are Uplink's bank), deleted the transfer statement at Bank A, deleted the transfer statement at Bank B, deleted my logs, THEN I attempted to legitimately access my legitimate account at Bank B directly from my gateway.

I figured that there is no logical way they could connect that with the money transfer, since there isn't even any record of the transfer at either bank, and I was coming from a totally different route. If it looks like anything to the bank, it looks like my account was just hacked, and then I logged in afterwards, unrelated.

As soon as I logged in, I'm remotely disconnected. I'm vexed by that, and wonder why. I decide to be prudent, and check my criminal record. It has a bank hacking charge on it, somehow. Whatever. I remove it. Clean slate. I still have the money in Bank B. I go to Uplink and start spending it. It's not in the Uplink bank and I quickly get an overdraw notice and a 500 credit fine. I didn't know Uplink only deducts from their own bank. I log into my account at Bank B (through the full bounce network this time), and transfer all the credits to the Uplink bank. I don't bother to erase any statements this time, since it's me transferring money to myself, via two legitimate accounts. I'm doing nothing wrong.

I delete the logs, just to be safe. I always delete the logs. Then I pay the fine, which is to some other bank I've never heard of, but that's where Uplink said they wanted it, and they acknowledge I did it right afterwards.

Some time later, the game ends, and it says I'm caught for bank fraud. This was the only time I tampered with Bank B in that game, and I really can't see how I could have been caught, logically speaking. Is someone framing me for fraud, and if so what am I supposed to do about that? Otherwise, it seems like the game is just randomly deciding whether it wants me to be caught or not.

[KingAl]

I'm guessing you were caught by a passive trace, and simply didn't delete your logs fast enough on one of the occasions. You aren't ever framed - every arrest disavowal (theoretically) is due to your own actions. Which bank does the game report you were disavowed for hacking?

Also, you can choose which bank to draw from on purchase - under the finance option on your gateway it lists all your accounts and you can select the one you want to use.

[jksghvwq]

"Which bank" in the first case was a bank I had never touched or heard of. In the second, it was Bank B. I was only messing with them long enough to hack my own account's transfer statement, at which point I immediately disconnected, immediately sterilized the test server logs (1 bounce and 1 admin access), and then immediately sterilized the Internic logs (2 bounces and 1 admin access). If "immediately" isn't fast enough, given that I was bouncing through essentially the entire internet, then I call a foul. It must have taken 30 seconds or less, even considering the wait for the proxy disabler.

I didn't know you could pick which bank, but I already see a problem with that. Clicking on it once selects it, clicking on it again connects directly to it? Not the greatest idea. I'd like a check box/button. Good to know, though. Not that I'll ever need it now, since I've just decided to send all the money to the Uplink bank.


Edit: I had Steam delete the local game content and re-download it. Hasn't happened again, in my new game. Pretty weird though.