Trojan Horse Threat Hits Poker Networks

May 15 2006, Paul Sandells

Online poker players are on high alert today as it emerged a possible trojan horse computer virus could have infected hundreds of machines. The security of those unlucky enough to be infected is very likely to have been compromised.

Only last week, Ladbrokes Poker were quick to reassure their poker players after it was alleged one of their employees was accused of stealing a massive $30,000,000 from punters accounts. Players alleged a "pop-up" message from Ladbrokes warned them of the theft but then stated accounts are "ok".

Today, Betfair Poker released a statement on the back of influx of trojan horse virus attacks to hit the Cryptologic network. Players were advised by a mystery user to visit the BBC website in regards to an employee fraud. Upon loading the site, it was apparent to many players that this was not the BBC's website. The savvy amongst the surfers quickly closed their browser windows. However, a downloadable .exe file was easily available. It is believed this file was a trojan horse virus.

A trojan horse allows remote access to machines online. With poker players financial information, amongst other things! freely available to the trojan horse owner, the prospect of mass fraud becomes a frightening reality.

Betfair quickly reassured their customers in a statement by saying: "An internet hoax directing internet users to a bogus BBC site, purporting to be a story about a Betfair scam contained links to a virus. While the story was malicious and entirely untrue, some links downloaded a “Trojan Horse”, a program potentially enabling a hacker to access a victim’s computer.

The potential consequences of a Trojan Horse are serious. A hacker can gain access to sensitive information from an infected computer, potentially tracking keystrokes and gaining personal banking or credit card information.

If you think you may have been a victim of this hoax, we urge you to contact your security software vendor for assistance.

We would like to confirm this story has nothing to do with Betfair or the BBC, and encourage Betfair members to take all precautions when online to open links only from trusted sources. We also recommend you regularly scan your computer for viruses, Trojans and malicious software."

UK Poker News advises all of our readers to never download or install any suspect files and to adhere to the Betfair information above regarding the security of their machines.

Ed note: Download Titan Poker for a £500 bonus and a free WSOP seat!

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