PartyPoker under siege

Australia’s most widely used poker website has become the target of a global phishing scam today, according to security vendor Websense.

Websense claims the attack aims to obtain personal account details of Partypoker.com users’ by sending a spoofed email with a link to a phishing site.

Joel Cammisar country manager A/NZ at Websense said PartyPoker is consistently the most widely accessed gambling site used by Australian employees. “It is [therefore] no surprise that this brand has been targeted in the latest phishing attack,” said Cammisar.

The email claims a new online gambling law has passed in the US and urges users to log into their account for more details. It then guides users to a US-hosted phishing site that asks for username updates.

Citing the Anti Phishing Working Group, Cammisar said over 90 percent of phishing attacks have traditionally targeted financial institutions.

“However, an emerging trend is targeted threats towards organisations like Party Poker for financial gain too,” he added.