Online gamers, gamblers warned of malware

INTERNET GAMBLERS and players of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) are being warned of Trojan horses that steal credit card information or virtual characters whose items are also being sold for real money.

Internet security firm Fortinet reported that the “Poker Trojan” is being used by criminals to steal user credentials from popular poker sites, which include FullContactPoker.Com (www.fullcontactpoker.com) and CheckRaised.com (www.checkraised.com).

Poker Trojan has a built-in root-kit that that plugs itself to downloadable software from these sites. When installed in a PC, the Trojan launches the root-kit that starts scanning for credit card passwords and sends these to its source or author.

So far, there have been no major reports of online poker players falling victim to Poker Trojan.

Meanwhile, players of online games are warned of the return of key-logging techniques to steal virtual characters as several versions of Trojan horses that have key-logging features arespreading through the Internet.

Instead of invisibly saving the typed-in usernames and passwords, the MMORPG Trojans send the captured data to its author. After gaining access to the usernames and passwords, the criminals activate the stolen character and sell either it or the character’s items for real money.

Fortinet Threat Intelligence Team Leader Guilluame Lovet said there are two key points for targeting online video games, first of which is that it is a social activity involving money that will later on be a target of cybercriminals.

The second point is that MMORPG players are willing to pay real money just to empower their own characters in the game, which online criminal syndicates find attractive and lucrative.

“Whether or not such a spectacular reduction of the factual frontier between real and virtual worlds is a worrying issue can be debated, but either way it’s inclined to send a little chill,” Lovet said.



Instead of invisibly saving the typed-in usernames and passwords, the MMORPG Trojans send the captured data to its author. After gaining access to the usernames and passwords, the criminals activate the stolen character and sell either it or the character’s items for real money.

Fortinet Threat Intelligence Team Leader Guilluame Lovet said there are two key points for targeting online video games, first of which is that it is a social activity involving money that will later on be a target of cybercriminals.

The second point is that MMORPG players are willing to pay real money just to empower their own characters in the game, which online criminal syndicates find attractive and lucrative.

“Whether or not such a spectacular reduction of the factual frontier between real and virtual worlds is a worrying issue can be debated, but either way it’s inclined to send a little chill,” Lovet said.

Instead of invisibly saving the typed-in usernames and passwords, the MMORPG Trojans send the captured data to its author. After gaining access to the usernames and passwords, the criminals activate the stolen character and sell either it or the character’s items for real money.

Fortinet Threat Intelligence Team Leader Guilluame Lovet said there are two key points for targeting online video games, first of which is that it is a social activity involving money that will later on be a target of cybercriminals.

The second point is that MMORPG players are willing to pay real money just to empower their own characters in the game, which online criminal syndicates find attractive and lucrative.

“Whether or not such a spectacular reduction of the factual frontier between real and virtual worlds is a worrying issue can be debated, but either way it’s inclined to send a little chill,” Lovet said.

Instead of invisibly saving the typed-in usernames and passwords, the MMORPG Trojans send the captured data to its author. After gaining access to the usernames and passwords, the criminals activate the stolen character and sell either it or the character’s items for real money.

Fortinet Threat Intelligence Team Leader Guilluame Lovet said there are two key points for targeting online video games, first of which is that it is a social activity involving money that will later on be a target of cybercriminals.


The second point is that MMORPG players are willing to pay real money just to empower their own characters in the game, which online criminal syndicates find attractive and lucrative.

“Whether or not such a spectacular reduction of the factual frontier between real and virtual worlds is a worrying issue can be debated, but either way it’s inclined to send a little chill,” Lovet said.


By Alexander Villafania

News Added: 04 June, 2006

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