Pokémon Go is one crazy mobile game that needs no introduction nowadays unless you’ve been living in a cave for a few months now. Like any other game, it has its fair share of cheaters and hackers, so it’s no surprise that unscrupulous players have been selling online their high-level accounts for a lot of moolah.

How does $11,000 sound (~P511,885) for a Level 30 account with 600k to 800k stardust and probably a whole buttload of evolved Pokémon? Too expensive? Apparently not, for some people.

Online gaming marketplaces such as League of Trading and PlayerAuctions are the go-to sites for players wanting to “get ahead” a lot further than everyone else. These sites facilitate sales and trades between players from all kinds of games. Of course, Pokémon Go accounts, being the frenzied worldwide phenomenon that it is, are up for grabs on these sites for a pretty penny.

Depending on the contents, accounts can go for as low as $10 to a nutty high of $11,362. Pokémon Go “power-leveling” services can also be bought at these marketplaces. For a fee, people can play the game for you, hatching and catching all the Pokémon you want while you sit back and relax with a lighter wallet. Cute.

In a report by CNBC, the news outlet interviewed a person who sells gaming accounts for a livelihood. He said that he employs a few people to do the walking and catching for Pokémon Go. His income from the business is usually around $2,000 a month, with highs reaching up to $5,000. So people actually buy this stuff, huh?

We here at Team Unbox do not condone cheating, hacking or account-trading of any kind. We prefer to do it the old-fashioned way, like Ash Ketchum, and play the game with fairness and honor in mind. For us, it’s more fun to play the game that way.

Source: PhoneArena, CNBC