Online Poker Security 101

If you spend any time reading online poker forums, then you have probably been scared by the same stories I have. Every month or two it's another poster who has lost their bankroll on a major poker site because their account was hacked. Of course, hacked isn't necessarily the right word, as the problem is often caused by a mistake the player made or something that could have been prevented. This doesn't mean it's the victim’s fault and I think we can all agree that the sites themselves should do more to help these players out, but it is your responsibility to keep your account information safe. With a few simple tips, you can make it almost impossible for anyone to get into your account without permission and keep your bankroll safe.

Get a security token. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker offer security tokens that are either free or can be bought with a small number of points; they virtually guarantee security. When you order the security token, you’ll get a plastic fob that can go on a keychain or just sit in the drawer of your computer desk. Once the token arrives and you activate the feature from the lobby of the poker room, logging into your account requires possession of that security token.

After activation, anytime you log into the site, you will be prompted for a six-digit number from the security token, which changes every 30 seconds. This is in addition to your password, so anyone trying to get into your account without your permission will need to know your password and have physical possession of your security token. If you have any money on one of the two major sites, you should absolutely have a security token.

Don't share your account information. I know it sounds simple, but I've known so many players who have made this mistake that it needs to be repeated. It happened to me once as well, although I was lucky and it only cost me $20. You may share your password with your best pal or a trusted poker buddy, but anyone can change, run out of money, develop a gambling problem, or share it with someone they trust. The person you share your password with may just log into your account for a completely understandable reason from a computer that is not secure and your information may be stolen from there.

Keep changing your information. People who steal money from poker accounts may be the scum of the Earth, but they aren't stupid. If you didn't care about keeping your account information safe when you had $35 in it and some unscrupulous individual got a hold of your account details, they probably wouldn't do anything with it. If you win a big tournament a few months later and suddenly have thousands of dollars in your account, then it's time for them to strike. It is no coincidence that so many people have their accounts hacked within a few days of a big win.

Play on a safe site. I wish there were a better way for upstarts to get their foot in the door in the online poker world, but it's a tough place to break into and I'm not going to make it any easier for the little guys here. Stick with an established site or network that has a good reputation and takes security seriously and you won't run into nearly as many problems. Somewhere over $20 million dollars was lost in the Absolute Poker and UB.com scandals, probably a much higher number than has been lost in all of the "Account hacked, please help!" posts I've seen put together.

Keep your computer physically safe. I keep my security tokens in a separate place from my computer and I don't use auto-fill in the logins of any of the smaller sites. The last thing you need is to lose your laptop on the subway and leave whoever finds it with complete access to all of your e-mail and online poker accounts. If you go on vacation, take your computer and drop it off with someone you trust or stash it somewhere safe because whoever breaks in to your house while you are gone will be the first person to clean out your poker accounts. If they don't do it, then whoever buys your computer from the pawnshop probably will, so don't let that machine get stolen.

Keep other passwords safe too. It doesn't make any sense to keep your poker passwords extra safe when your e-mail accounts are completely unprotected. Anyone who gets access to your e-mail account can get your poker passwords just by attempting to log into your account and claiming they forgot the password.

Don't use easy-to-answer security questions. Would it be that tough for someone who wanted to get into your account to find out your pet's name or your mother's maiden name? Keep those e-mail accounts safe and make sure no one can get into your poker accounts, no matter how many ways they try. If you make yourself a tough person to take advantage of, hackers will go after somebody else who hasn't done any of these things.