Wow so maybe there really is a hacker group targeting stops on the EPT circuit- they seem to be targeting the right players as well, and obv try to time it when they think you`re still playing. The phone calls further confirm its a hacking attempt as well obv.

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2013/0...otel-16250.htm

Right? I would try to get to the bottom of it ASAP. I would want all of my guests to feel as safe as possible. You know the first thing he's going to do is tell everyone he knows how incompetent and unsafe the hotel is if you don't.

Hiding in the shower......be glad you did not need a pee, confronting intruders is not +ev

sorry to have to read all about this jeans, but for you and all the other poker players that stayed at that casino I'm worried the poker community is going to start hearing about missing funds from a lot of players. you were lucky(unlucky) enough to notice that you were at least missing your laptop, I cant imagine how many other rooms were broken into laptop taken, hacked and put back. makes me sick hope they fire the whole security staff.

gl to all the poker players who stayed at that hotel hope they catch everyone involved, maybe time to call in some favors with the Finnish mod???

Definite +1 to summarising your story on Tripadvisor. I've been travelling the world for 18 months and stay in a new hotel every second day and I rely almost exclusively on Tripasvisor. If you want to ruffle some Ritz Carlton feathers, this is how to do it (provided a few of you share your similar independent stories).

Something nobody has mentioned is contact a few major Barcelona newspapers. Any news publication would surely love to get there hands on a story like this. It's fascinating.

To those saying "sue the hotel".. Do you even know what "sue" means? What exactly is your cause of action? Hotel room trespassing? Unauthorised borrowing of a laptop? Police might help but since nothing had been stolen why would they waste their time?

Only the PRESS would be interested in this story.

Is there a link that all the rooms affected may have been booked through stars reps? This makes it really easy for someone to bribe hotel staff or a member of staff to be involved and know all the rooms booked in that group. Obviously most of these people being HS players.

Wouldnt be hard to do this on numerous stops on the EPT. Especially if its linked to organised crime, which wouldnt be surprising, as theres been links before. They know well in advance all the hotels which will be used and only need to bribe/threaten a couple of people. If the criminals are targetting poker players specifically. THey know exactly what theyre doing and i doubt would just be limited to this one stop on the EPT.

sorry one last post,
how F'ing sick is it that they tried to pin it on your roommate!! like wtf make sure to send them an invoice since you clearly were doing most of their jobs!! SMFH

This is absolutely ****ed up and two things stick out to me like a sore thumb:

Stars relative silence so far, come on this is a HUGE deal.

The fact the police were not involved right from the get go and as far as I can tell STILL aren't involved.

Btw it is surely obvious that old security dude knows EXACTLY what is going on, there are probably multiple hotel staff in on it. Involve the police immediately.

Also +1 in getting the media involved in some way. There are hotel people not involved but also not taking it seriously enough. Bad press and suddenly corporate is interested....

+1

As rough as it may sound, PS needs to let everyone in the tourney know of a "possible" issue with personal laptops.

Not everyone reads 2+2...

Also, thanks for posting this very difficult situation Jeans and I wish you the best of luck!

Ept san remo 07/08 all over again

Wow so sick man gl and keep fighting dnt let these scum bags win.

I must say this defo looks like an inside job, they see alot of rich poker players staying at the hotel and they know that laptops will be left in rooms when players are playing downstairs.
Seems absurd that a 5 star hotel would have 8 cameras out at anytime but for a week thats horrendous. But seems to confirm more that its an inside job as they would know what floor most players would be kept on and they can kill the cameras before players arrive and not fix them till you leave.
The security guard seems dodgy as you would think they would want to find out whats going on and seem to have no care for your safety.

gl and keep fighting

Victims should ditch those laptops ASAP. Trojans and keyloggers are the least of the issues - if the suspects had to remove the laptops, there is a good chance hardware changes are in place.

SIM card bugs could be soldered to their power supplies/batteries with ease.

1) That is awful, Jeans. Hope they find him and no one loses any $ to this scumbag.

2) "Tired of picking up the soap from the prison shower floor." is absolute gold, and I'm stealing it and won't be paying royalties. Sorry.

Theres probably no point in going to the police. Euro countries like Spain are so corrupt, the police are unlikely to do anything, especially because you're not Spanish

Unbelievable story. Hope these scumbags get caught and yeah it seems like 99.9999% an inside job. ****ing low-lives.

Get the police involved without a doubt.

could the hotels be part of the same chain???

Should I be worried too? I played EPT barcelona but I stayed in a different hotel but I did let my laptop in my room during 2 days just over the desk...

What program should I run to check for trojans? I have Kasperky Internet Security 2013 and I did a full scan, is this enough?

Take it to a knowledgeable computer security company and have them check it. Your corner PC-shop is not enough for that.

Softwarewise there is no 100% proof method of checking compromise.

- mongeron

I'd take $400 from that nosebleed bankroll to buy a shot gun. Take said shotgun and destroy that dinosaur of a laptop. Then take $1500-2000 from that nosebleed bankroll and go buy a new, clean, safe notebook.

I don't care if Kevin Mitnick wiped my pc clean, I would never use it again in this spot.

I second this, the laptops HAVE TO be preserved as evidence. The least thing that can be achieved with this is that antivirus companies will get information on the malware, and can prevent further use of the malware by adding the detection to their AV-software.

- mongeron

FWIW, me and a couple of friends had our car broken in in Barcelona several years a go, and stuff was stolen. We went to the police, and they were very helpful and even had an english speaking officer help us (since we are not spanish).
Posting this to point out that going to the police in Barcelona as a tourist does not per definition have to be a bad/disappointing move.

Oh and GL with everything Jeans. Whatever the result, hope you won't let this affect your happiness too much long term. Things like this can be pretty traumatizing so make sure you talk it over or w/e, if necessary at all..

You obviously have no ****in' idea about police in Spain.

I totally recommend to go to the police. Police in Spain is not corrupt, and they might help even if it's only making Hotel Ars going through all the footage.

so sick

atleast you were lucky enough to know that you'been hacked unlike other players that may have lose lots of $$

seems like pokerpros should buy new laptop every month just in case..