Phishers Increasingly Target Customers of Gambling Sites

According to software Security Company Symantec, e-mail fraudsters are focusing on players of online casinos with increasing phishing attacks. The Internet security firm also said that such fraudsters' attention is drawn to a number of instances in which small countries are providing shelter to phishing Websites.

A surge of attacks against gamblers of online casinos is managed and run from Antigua and the Dutch Antilles and this demonstrates how cyber attackers are selecting targets beyond eBay and online banks.

Researcher Marvin Fabuli at Symantec said that the US government's implementation of ban on online casinos is partly because these sites provide organized criminals a lucrative opportunity to embezzle with ill-gotten money, which has been the prime motive of phishers attacking online gamblers, as reported by Securitypronews on February 27, 2008.

Websites for gambling are a preferred target for phishers who are tricking punters to disclose their login credentials or credit card information. Moreover, it is also easier to extort money from online gaming accounts against doing the same from Internet banking accounts.

But for this, phishers have to take assistance of middlemen to collect money from hacked Internet bank accounts and subsequently, transferring it to their own accounts through Western Union money transfers. Consequently, it becomes quite hard to trace the money because fraudsters have their accounts overseas.

Also, as it is not possible to wire money straight from the online account of a victim located in a country different from the fraudster, local intermediaries or mules are hired. Such requirement of mules is not necessary for money transfers from hacked gambling accounts.

The US laws are banning of payment processing from gambling Websites by credit card firms or banks has pushed the processing of such payment underground. Therefore, the gambling sites are becoming vulnerable to phishing attacks easier to launch from countries with less strict laws for financial security.

Access to online gambling accounts also eases the process of money laundering. Phishers can create gambling accounts for online operation using victims' stolen identities and credit card details. With that, they can launder the ill-gotten money by interchanging funds through the game pots they create amongst themselves.

Related article: Phishers Expand Their Sphere of Attacks

» SPAMfighter News - 3/4/2008