Danish Player Peter Jespen Targeted

Todd | September 24, 2008
Peter Jespen

Well-known Danish professional poker player Peter Jespen was recently the target of sophisticated fraud. The problem began when Jespen was contacted via email by a supposed representative of a well-known Swedish media company. The perpetrator disguised themselves as a representative of Sweden’s OTW Media, which produces the popular poker show “The Game.” The perpetrator tried to gain Jespen’s interest in being on the show, and the two exchanged several emails.

In a final email, the perpetrator sent Jespen a PDF file with information about the show and some details. However, Jespen was not easily fooled. The supposed PDF file was actually an executable file. Upon investigation, the executable file was found to be infected with a dangerous Trojan capable of keylogging. Keylogging is a tactic hackers use to capture passwords and personal information.

When contacted about the incident, OTW indicated that there were no current plans to make another season of “The Game.” They also stated that email would not have been the method to contact Jespen. This incident highlights a scary but true reality for high-stakes poker players. Always be on the lookout for internet predators.