Watch out! Somebody's Hacking Into Your Poker Account!

If you're playing most of your poker online, consider yourself warned.

Thanks to the thousands of dollars that can be stored in online poker accounts, it is no wonder that the poker community is now the target of high-technology crimes. Still, despite the stories you've heard about stolen passwords and account hackings, you never really think it could happen to you. Well, this story about notable pro Peter ''Zupp'' Jepsen may instill caution in your mind.

Danish pro Peter ''Zupp'' Jepsen was sent an e-mail by a fraudster who pretended to be employed by OTW Media, a Swedish production company that filmed the highly-popular poker show, ''The Game.'' Jepsen's interest was naturally aroused by the show's interest in him (after all, the best way to get someone's attention is to appeal to his vanity) and this resulted in an exchange of e-mails.

In one e-mail, Jepsen was asked to visit OTWMedia.com and open a file that was supposed to be in pdf format. Well, Jepson's momma didn't raise no fool because upon seeing that it was an .exe file, Jepsen scanned the program and found out it was a Trojan virus that could very well steal his passwords.

A series of investigations determined that the OTWMedia.com domain is not owned by the production company. Furthermore, OTW (who hosts its actual website) has denied that it has contacted Jepsen at all. The plot thickens because a second domain was found which is believed to be an attempt to duplicate the Unibet site.

Why Jepsen? It looks like these wanna-be Ocean's Eleven thieves actually bother to do their research. Jepsen, who by the way is most popular for winning the EPT3 Polish Open, won a highly-publicized, $500,000 pot at Full Tilt Poker's $500/$1,000 game last September 2. Jepsen scooped up the second biggest pot ever won in an online poker site against Tom ''durrrr'' Dwan.

So let this serve as a warning to all poker players who wish their hard-earned winnings to be left untouched. The next time you receive suspicious e-mails or phone calls, it is always best to verify the source. Otherwise, you might find yourself suddenly without a bankroll and out of the game.

Who will win the 2008 WSOP Main Event Final Table at the Rio in Las Vegas on November 9? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

Dennis Phillips 4.00

Craig Marquis 11.00

Ylon Schwartz 9.00

Scott Montgomery 5.00

Darus Suharto 9.50

Chino Rheem 8.50

Ivan Demidov 5.50

Kelly Kim 26.00

Peter Eastgate 6.50

Want more odds? Visit Bodog for more poker betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

2008 World Series of Poker Online Poker