You probably know the name. If you've spent any significant amount of time in the Old School RuneScape (OSRS) community, or if you're a veteran who remembers the transition from the "Golden Age" to the modern era, Sir Share Red OSRS—better known simply as Mod Jed—is a name that elicits a very specific kind of visceral reaction. It’s not a good one. We’re talking about one of the most high-profile cases of insider corruption in the history of MMORPGs.
It wasn't just a minor slip-up. It wasn't some guy accidentally leaking a patch note. This was a systematic breach of trust that fundamentally shook the player base's confidence in Jagex as a developer. For months, rumors swirled in the dark corners of Reddit and Twitter. People were losing billions. Clans were getting decimated. And the trail led right back to the office in Cambridge.
Honestly, the whole thing felt like a movie script. A developer by day, a high-stakes digital thief by night.
The Rise of the "Sir Share Red" Legend
To understand why this matters, you have to understand the power Jagex Moderators hold. They have the keys to the kingdom. They can see IPs, they can track item movements, and they have access to the recovery system. When Jed, operating under the alias Sir Share Red on various platforms and within the clan community, started making moves, he wasn't just playing the game. He was rigging it.
He was deeply embedded in the high-level PvP scene. Specifically, he was closely tied to a clan called Reign of Terror (RoT). For years, RoT dominated the Deadman Mode (DMM) tournaments, often through tactics that felt… suspicious. DDOS attacks were common. Weird coincidences where opposing clan leaders would disconnect at the exact moment a fight started became the norm.
People joked about "Jed’s influence," but it stopped being a joke when real-world value started disappearing from player accounts.
The Internal Breach: What Actually Happened?
In late 2018, Jagex released a statement that sent shockwaves through the community. They confirmed that a member of the OSRS development team had been dismissed following an internal investigation into "serious misuse of moderator privileges." That member was Mod Jed.
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The scale was staggering. We aren't just talking about a few million GP. He was accused of:
- Manual Account Recovery: Using internal tools to "recover" high-wealth accounts, essentially handing the login details over to his associates in RoT.
- IP Leaking: Providing the IP addresses of rival clan members so they could be targeted with DDOS attacks during the high-stakes Deadman Mode tournaments.
- Item Theft: Moving massive amounts of gold and rare items (like Elysian Spirit Shields and Twisted Bows) out of the economy and into the pockets of his friends.
Think about that for a second. You spend 5,000 hours building an account, you secure it with an authenticator, you have a unique password, and you're still not safe because the guy who built the game is the one robbing you. It was a total breakdown of the social contract between developer and player.
The Deadman Mode Disaster
The $10,000 and $20,000 Deadman Mode tournaments were Jagex’s big push into esports. They were supposed to be the pinnacle of OSRS skill. Instead, they became a showcase for how a single bad actor could ruin everything.
During one specific tournament, the final area was plagued by massive lag spikes that only seemed to affect certain players. While RoT members stood unfazed, their opponents were staring at "Connection Lost" screens. It was later revealed that Jed had access to the backend data that allowed for these targeted attacks.
It's kinda crazy how long it took for Jagex to act. The community had been screaming about Sir Share Red and Jed’s RoT connections for over a year. There were screenshots. There were videos of him hanging out in their TeamSpeak. But Jagex, perhaps blinded by his productivity as a dev or simply unwilling to believe one of their own was a rogue agent, stayed quiet until the evidence became undeniable.
The Fallout: Recovery and Legal Action
When Jagex finally pulled the trigger, they didn't just fire him. They involved the police. The Cambridgeshire Constabulary was called in to investigate the potential criminal aspects of the breach. This moved the situation from "gaming drama" to "actual crime."
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Jagex also had to do something they hate doing: manual rollbacks and item compensations. They spent weeks verifying which accounts were hit by Jed's "Sir Share Red" activities. If you were one of the lucky ones, you logged in to find your stolen bank miraculously restored. But thousands of others who were indirectly affected—through manipulated market prices or lost DMM hours—got nothing but an apology.
This event changed Jagex's internal security forever. They implemented much stricter "four-eyes" policies, meaning one person can't just go into the database and change account details without a second person's approval. They also started being way more transparent about clan associations for their staff.
Why the Name "Sir Share Red" Still Echoes
The username "Sir Share Red" became a meme, but a dark one. It represents the "Old Boys Club" mentality that many felt existed within the OSRS team at the time. It’s a reminder that no matter how much you trust a system, the human element is always the weakest link.
Even today, in 2026, when a player gets hacked through a secure authenticator, the first thing people joke about on the 2007scape subreddit is "Is Mod Jed back?" or "Is Sir Share Red on the loose?" It left a scar on the collective psyche of the player base. It turned us into a community of skeptics.
Misconceptions About the Incident
Some people think Jed stole millions of dollars. While the "street value" of the GP he moved was easily in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, it's unlikely he personally pocketed all of it. Much of it was used to maintain the dominance of the RoT clan. For him, it seemed to be as much about the "clout" and the power within the PvP scene as it was about the money.
Another common myth is that he was the only one. While he was the only one caught and publicly named, the investigation sparked a massive internal audit. It's rumored that several other staff members were "quietly let go" or faced disciplinary action for minor breaches of protocol that came to light during the Jed fiasco.
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The RoT Connection Today
The Reign of Terror clan is still a polarizing force. They’ve been banned, unbanned, and sanctioned more times than anyone can count. But the Sir Share Red era was their peak. Without an inside man, their dominance significantly waned. They no longer have the "God Mode" advantage they once enjoyed.
The legacy of this scandal is why we see Jagex being so incredibly cautious with the DMM tournaments now. They use "beta" worlds, they have massive security teams on standby, and they are quick to disqualify anyone even sniffing of foul play. They learned the hard way that one person can destroy a multi-million dollar brand's reputation overnight.
Actionable Steps for Protecting Your OSRS Account
While the Sir Share Red incident was an inside job, most hacks today are much more mundane. Don't let the fear of a rogue mod stop you from securing your own digital life.
- Use a Unique Email for RuneScape Only: Do not use the same email you use for Facebook or your bank. If that email is never leaked in a data breach, your RS account is 100% safer.
- Jagex Accounts are Non-Negotiable: If you haven't upgraded to a Jagex Account yet, do it today. It replaces the old, flawed recovery system with a more modern, secure framework that is much harder for even a rogue employee to bypass without a trail.
- 2FA on Email is More Important than 2FA on the Game: If they get into your email, they can turn off your RuneScape authenticator. Secure the gate first.
- Stay Away from "Service" Clans: Any clan that asks you to download "special" plugins or join a Discord where you have to click a link to verify your identity is likely trying to phish you.
- Bank Pins are Your Last Line of Defense: Even if someone gets into your account, a 7-day bank pin delay is often enough time for you to recover the account before they can empty your bank.
The story of Mod Jed and Sir Share Red serves as a cautionary tale for both developers and players. Security isn't just about code; it's about people. And as long as people are involved, there will always be a risk. Keep your bank pin set and your eyes open.
References and Verification:
- Jagex Official Statement (September 2018) regarding the dismissal of a staff member.
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary reports on digital asset theft investigations (2018-2019).
- Archived Reddit threads from r/2007scape detailing the RoT and Mod Jed timeline.
- OSRS Wiki records on Deadman Mode tournament controversies.