Warning: Scammers Target PocketFives Members by PM

A hand history link scam appears to be doing the rounds in the poker community with at least one player having his ACR funds stolen after clicking on a hand review purporting to be from PocketFives…

In a poker group chat, one user revealed that he clicked on a hand history link sent to him in a private message, which took him to the PocketFives login page.

The following day, both his Skrill accounts had suffered hacking attempts, and his ACR balance had mysteriously been withdrawn to BTC.

The player, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims he also received a fake email from PocketFives asking him to ‘log in and confirm new terms and conditions’ – something he believes may be related to the earlier costly hack.

Hacks and frauds by scammers are not unusual, of course, the poker community frequently targeted, and this week’s warning coincides with a sharp uptake in online poker due to the coronavirus lockdowns in place.

Sources close to PokerTube have confirmed several such attempts over recent days, which correlates with wider warnings over ‘stressed IT systems’ that are struggling to cope with Cyberthreats.

CNBC.com reported this week that ‘phishing scams and spam are spiking as online criminals take advantage of the coronavirus to attack remote workforces and corporate systems’ with ‘tech vendors…less able to respond in the current situation.’

With the poker world moving online for the foreseeable future, that means more poker-room offers and entertainment-based links doing the rounds, so PokerTube are warning players to be on the lookout for such scams and beef up your online security.