Account Hacked on Stars Currently

[Dan.]

So tonight I received 2 emails from the pokerstars cashier detailing transfers I supposedly made to a user mallod9191. I of course did not make these transfers. I haven't played for a few days and have never given out my password to anyone. I immediately emailed pokerstars support with a urgent message to freeze the account. What's my play next? Anyone know pokerstars' procedure? The person is still logged into my account as I'm typing. Any advice on future security?

[Dan.]

Email I just got back from Pokerstars:

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for you email,

I have frozen your account at this time and contacted our security
department with your details. They will review the matter at hand as soon
as possible and contact you with all the necessary information.

If there is anything else we may help you with, please let us know.

Regards,

Vielka
PokerStars Support Team

[teddyFBI]

sry to hear about this -- good luck

i've always thought that it's a little too easy to transfer money online, when there are easy security measures the sites could use to make it a little safer.

e.g.
1. Users should be allowed to disable the interacct transfer feature if they want...and it could only be reactivated via email...i dunno how easy it would be for hackers to spoof your email addy.

2. Perhaps you could also choose to ONLY allow interacct transfers to be made from a single IP address (presumably your home address or wherever u usually play from)...sure, it would be a PITA if ur traveling and want to make an xfer, but as an elective feature this sounds promising.

***3. And for god's sake, one feature EVERY site needs to implement NOW is to make your login name DIFFERENT FROM YOUR SCREENAME! This is such a no-brainer, it hurts. Raymer had his Stars account hacked last yr b/c someone knew his Stars screename (obviously) and guessed his password, which raymer admits was far too weak.

well, this is inspiring me to go change all my poker site passwords to something more cryptic.

[pathogen]

Check your computer for viruses/spyware using an updated scanner, maybe even two or three. A simple trojan horse could log your keystrokes (this would include your password) and wreck havoc on your life. Typically before i load up pokerstars I fire up a command prompt and type in netstat to see if any rogue connections are open on my computer. If they are I won't log into any sensitive sites that require personal information.

[NU Star]

My feeling is that sites want to make the process as simple as possible for new players. Assuming this is the case, I think a good compromise would be to have optional advanced security features.



Also...OP is my roomate. We share the same internet connections. Should I take some immediate precautions? For now I'm on my computer logged on to stars...

[pathogen]

[ QUOTE ]
My feeling is that sites want to make the process as simple as possible for new players. Assuming this is the case, I think a good compromise would be to have optional advanced security features.



Also...OP is my roomate. We share the same internet connections. Should I take some immediate precautions? For now I'm on my computer logged on to stars...

[/ QUOTE ]
Just check your computer for viruses/trojans just because you share the same internet connection does not mean you are immediatly at risk.

[BradleyT]

[ QUOTE ]
***3. And for god's sake, one feature EVERY site needs to implement NOW is to make your login name DIFFERENT FROM YOUR SCREENAME! This is such a no-brainer, it hurts.

[/ QUOTE ]

That or add a 4-6 digit pin in addition to our passwords.

Edit - actually forget the pin, non-matching login name and player display name is the best choice.

[HighSteaks]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Users should be allowed to disable the interacct transfer feature if they want...and it could only be reactivated via email.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a great idea - every time this happens a heap of great ideas are thrown around here but no sign of the Poker sites incorporating any of them - really annoying. After the recent hacking at Full Tilt I changed all my passwords and stopped using the "remember password" feature on any site I have money on - and used the thing below to create difficult passwords - worth doing.

http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/

[JavaNut]

[ QUOTE ]
stopped using the "remember password" feature.....
- and used the thing below to create difficult passwords

[/ QUOTE ]

Never use remember password, MS should be made to remove it from all versions of windows.

The sites should be required to ensure that the passwords are sufficiently complex, min. n numbers, min. n capital letters, min. n non capital letters, min. chars in all. But as they are not yet, use a generator for complex passwords, or just do it yourself.

[KittyLiquor]

I'd also like to see a user specified delay on interaccount transfers.

I would set mine at 2 hours. Every time I wanted to do a transfer...
1) I'd request the transfer
2) PS would email me a confirmation
3) PS would wait 2 hours
4) And then if I didn't complain, they would complete the transfer

If I did transfers all the time I'd set my timer at 1 minute. But since I never transfer I'd set my timer at 24 hours. I can't complain since the timer amout was my choice.

----------------Meow