Online Poker Criminal Deposits

Online Poker: This past week I have received 2 e-mails asking my advice about a very dangerous subject. The first e-mailer advised me that he and a cohort had successfully pulled off an identity theft and pilfered the victim's personal data and credit card numbers. He stated that he felt apprehensive about turning the information into actual identification documents and financial instruments such as credit cards and bank accounts. He wanted to know if it was safe to instead use online poker sites to deposit money off the stolen cards and then have it funneled back to him after play, after which he would do more financial maneuvering to get the money to its final destination.

The second e-mailer said she'd read a book I had co-authored called "Identity Theft Incorporated" and expressed her desire to pull off a casino credit scam similar to one that I had written about in the book. She admitted (yes, it was a woman) that she didn't have the balls (yes, that's how she put it) to go into an actual casino and try it but asked if she could somehow scam the online poker sites to fraudulently fund accounts and then cash out with the profits.

Well, this is all dangerous business. As I told each of these e-mailers: Do not screw around with credit-card and identity-theft scams with online gaming deposits! It is dangerous and you WILL get screwed. International police and investigative agencies are paying more and more attention to money laundering and other financial crimes cloaked inside online gaming accounts. Try this in the virtual world and you may have a very real world visit from the US Secret Service and FBI!