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Maryann Guberman has been a writer and editor with many gaming publications, including Sports Form, Card Player, Poker World, Player's Panorama and Systems and Methods. She also has written and edited numerous books on gambling.

Oct 07, 2006

Forewarned is Forearmed

Addresses are given to us to conceal our whereabouts. -- Saki

Today just about everybody involved in poker is talking about the newest attempt by the U.S. government to stop people from plying their skills on the Internet.

Not me.

I've already beaten that dead horse (which is the term we'll use for this bill eventually).

I have a more important agenda to discuss - the safety of the money you've sent to middlemen. Yes, I'm talking about Neteller, FirePay, and other companies that act as a clearinghouse for money going back and forth between various companies and individuals.

My focus of concern has to do with a problem other websites have been experiencing for years - phishing and spoofing - the kind of nefarious act by unscrupulous cons and thieves performed with the distinct purpose of stealing from you.

As an eBay fan myself, I've received many messages in my personal email inbox asking me to verify that I am the owner of the credit card registered with eBay or to enter a new password because mine has been compromised, or that there has been a non-delivery dispute or ... well, they use many different tactics. They all look like legitimate messages from eBay and/or PayPal.

These messages are anything but legitimate requests and if the persons who receive the messages clickson the supplied URL, they are (mis)directed to what looks like the real thing. Once there, they are asked to supply the kind of verifiable personal information that anyone can (and definitely will) use to run up their credit card, pilfer their bank account and sometimes even plant a software device into a computer so it can record all information you type. (After this keylogger software transmits the information to its home computer, the information runs through a filtering system, tossing out garbage like grocery lists, and keeping the good stuff - including all your banking and credit card information.)

There's more but it makes no sense to continue because like a successful TV series, everything becomes a spin-off.

Jump forward to yesterday when I opened an email inbox at the bookstore where I earn the money that lets me play a little poker now and then. The bookstore doesn't have a Neteller account so when I saw a message from what appeared to be said money-transfer company (I recognized as the correct return address in the message header), I knew immediately it was a fake! Since the store has software in place to help prevent attacks from outsiders, I opened and read the message. Wow, it was wonderful. They were telling me I received 84 USD for my poker website affiliate payment. And we aren't affiliated. A bit later in the message, I was informed that the amount was 684 USD. Maybe I can withdraw that dough and put it in my pocket. Nah, I know better.

As a courtesy to Neteller and its customers, I forwarded a copy to the support team there. I received a polite response explaining what I already knew and giving me various email addresses and phone numbers I could contact in case I had revealed any information or if I had any questions.

All this is just a way to explain to those who may not be totally computer savvy, those whose kids taught them how to log on to their favorite gambling site and to those who have never done much credit card purchasing via the web.

As I discovered many months ago (because I actually received spam supposedly FROM MYSELF in my own - but no longer used -- hotmail mailbox!!!) it's easy to forge a return address. Using ordinary email software from the world's largest software company, a person can concoct any return email address so it appears to the receiver that messages are from legitimate, known senders.

If you receive any information from your money-transfer company, don't ever, ever accept it as legitimate. Be totally suspicious. Don't click on any links for any reason. If you want to find out if you have any messages or money, just go to the site by way of your browser and use the site to explore the veracity of the message.

And to those who don't pay attention to the details (those who have already fallen for the scam), shame on you. I just hope you don't play poker that way.