I got Punk'd.

[bunny]

Yes. I think it matters. If it was random, then he might have someone else's personal information. Anyone from here, for that matter.

But I'm sure Aeq will let us in, in due time. So I'll stay out of his business.

This most probably has nothing to do with any of this, but I used to have a Yahoo account awhile back. Every once in awhile I'd log in, a window would pop up stating(something along these lines... "We have signed you out from other computer, please try signing in again." The weird thing was that I wasn't signed in, nor was anyone else using my computer. Too Twilight zoney for me, so I got rid of Yahoo.

[PShabi]

Random or not:

He had Lou's birthday, hometown, first and last name and that was all he needed to access yahoo. That's the key here.

[GTDawg]

Haha

Suckers

My password is ****** just try it, motherf*cker!

Good to hear that everything is the way to being fixed...Don't we have any upstanding TP members that could go kick his ass or something?

No I don't advocate the asskicking

[SirFWALGMan]

I am really surprised you got Punked AEQ. Everytime we talked on IM, etc, you were a very suspicious (lawyer trait?) person.. how did this guy get all your information? Did he just guess? Wow!

[Talking Poker]

If he "guessed" Lou's full name, hometown, and birthday.... shit - I'd be impressed.

[left68wing]

this almost sounds like a candidate for a darwin award. guy decides to steal money, picks a lawyer to try to fraud, leaves an internet trail behind, when asked if he knew if the victim was a lawyer, he says no. sorry about losing the 300 dollars, but this is hilarious.

[Aequitas58]

Well, when you put it that way...

I'm not confident that I'll get the money back. But that's his choice at this point. I've made him well aware of the situation that he put himself in, so let's see if he does good for himself. I have the phone numbers for the bank fraud and cyber crimes divisions of his local police department (nh Google), most likely I'm making the calls on Monday.

I spoke to him two days ago - I'm actually doubting I'll hear from him again. Pfft, whatever, that's what cops are for.

[Aequitas58]

My information was all over the internet. I know how he did it, and it wasn't hard. I'm debating on whether I'm going to post his complete methodology. The last thing I want to do is "show" someone how to do it, so that someone else gets fucked.

The important thing is to keep your information safe. You have to realize that what is public information on some sites (ie: My birthdate was listed in my TP profile) can be used to help get passwords for other sites. See what I mean?

EDIT: I'm not going to be like BUNNY, and ask "What do you mean by that," because you sometimes you explode at the mouth w/out really knowing what you type.

[Talking Poker]

Here's the thing though... While you can keep the name "Aequitas58" on TP fairly anonymous, anyone who knows you in real life is going to know your name and (approximately) where you live. Given that info, it's easy to get your birthdate and anything else they need to do damage. The flaw in the system here isn't making your information public, but rather Yahoo's ridiculous security measures AND the fact that you were keeping sensitive information in a web based email account.

Example: George Bush. I know his name. I know his address. With about 10 seconds of research, I could find his birthdate. But that doesn't put him at risk for anything at all..... I'm willing to bet he isn't using as his primary email address.

[Tony Cheval]

Web mail For The Lose.

[SirFWALGMan]

I think it might be a public service message for you to tell people how it happened and how to prevent it (besides not leaving sensitive materials on Yahoo!).

[Aequitas58]

Well, a little bit of an update for those following along:

I was contacted by the "mystery" person, and he has promised that the money will be returned to me. Supposedly, an Uncle in California is sending him the money, and he will be forwarding it to me. Likely story? We'll see. In the least, I'm surprised he contacted me... I honestly didn't think I would hear from him since our last AIM conversation.*

(*Let me reiterate for those playing at home, this person wasn't a "friend" of mine who had more information at his fingertips than you do. As per SIR's post, again, I will not start revealing more than I already have. If this angers you, then don't post in this thread anymore. Re-read RD's posts, and you will begin to see why.)

[Talking Poker]

Exactly.... so, random or not, if you thin anyone here (or elsewhere) may have that information about you, do yourself a favor and:
1. Don't keep sensitive information in your Yahoo account.
2. Don't link your poker accounts to your Yahoo account.

Tada. Problem solved. Random or not.

[Robbie Robb]

The highlight is the absolute MOST important thing that you can do. Almost EVERYONE who spends any regular amount of time online has an ISP-provided email address. For less than $10/year it's very simple to register your own domain name. Most of the registrars allow simple email forwarding (I use and they have a great email forwarding setup) so you can setup specific accounts for specific things. If you also happen to have a hosting package that uses its own POP/SMTP server then you have even MORE options.

I currently have a separate email account that I use exclusively for poker-related accounts. It is passworded differently than my other accounts as well.

As far as Lou's situation is concerned, it's extremely unfortunate and hopefully restitution will be made in full by the date required. I also hope that Lou will go forward with the prosecution of this person. At the very least I would hope that he has shared the identity with Neteller and Pokerstars (it sounds like he has) and hopefully THEY choose to prosecute.

While it's fine to ask who the perpetrator is, ultimately it really doesn't matter. How is knowing who the person is going to make your accounts any more secure? If the person has your information, they have it. Plain and simple. For those worried, do as others suggest and immediately change any and all passwords that you feel may be comprimised. Basic computer security 101.

I am glad that we were made aware of the situation as silence may have resulted in devistating affects to many forum members accounts. We now know that there is someone who obviously can't be trusted and we should be VERY careful as to what information we present to fellow forum members.

If anyone would like anymore information on how to go about registering domain names and setting up exclusive use email addresses, please feel free to PM me.

[bunny]

Only way to have Lou's last name would be if Lou (Aeq?) was close enough to give it to him. So, my guess is he knows him well. As for the hometown and birthdate that's easily attainable on this forum's profile. Glad I didn't give mine out.

I'm sorry for asking so many questions, I'm going to be one dead cat soon, if I don't shut up.

[jillaj]

Good news for AEQ is that he is probably going to get the 20 dollars for the longest thread of the month. If it was posted on April 1st it would make me say hmm.

[Aequitas58]

Does this thread even count for that? Hmm, if I won, I'd have a $20 online bankroll.

[Talking Poker]

I don't think anyone even suspected this, but just to be sure:

In case anyone was wondering, your TPF passwords are 100% secure within the database. They are encrypted and not even I can access them, let alone a hacker, etc.

[Spuddy]

Hahaha!

Maybe I can further help him out!