Online poker hacker faces jail

An online poker hacker faces jail after he stole over £7 million virtual chips from an application on social networking site, Facebook. Ashley Mitchell from Devon appeared before Exeter Crown Court yesterday facing charges relating to computer crime after he hacked into the a server owned by Zynga, allowing him to access online poker accounts to steal virtual chips worth £7.4 million in total.However the plucky hacker only managed to get his hands on £53,000 before he was caught.

Between June and September 2009 Mitchell posed as an administrator on Zynga’s server, allowing him to access the poker software and distribute over 400 billion poker chips to his numerous Facebook account that were set up to receive and cash his stolen poker chips. He started selling his haul at £430 per billion chips but he only managed to earn a little over £53,000 by the time authorities caught up with him.Mitchell claimed that he was forced to steal the virtual poker chips and sell them to feed his ever-growing gambling habit. Mitchell then pleaded guilty to five charges under the Computer Misuse Act and the Proceeds from Crime Act yesterday and has been remanded in custody until his sentencing, to be arranged at a later date. The case judge, Philip Wassal stated that Mitchell could be in for a lengthy spell as he is already serving a suspended sentence for hacking a former employer’s network of computers to pay himself over £2,000.Thankfully the security at the world’s leading online poker sites, such as PokerStars, is of the very highest level, with the very latest encryption software being employed to ensure that you, your online poker account and your personal details stay safe and sound while you’re playing poker on the internet.