According to some news sources, Douglas "WCGRider" Polk, a regular of PokerStars nosebleed tables, recently got approximately $35,000 refunded after PokerStars found out that he had fallen victim to a computer hacker.
It all began in March when Polk played against an unknown "fish" named "Forbidden536" at a $5/$10 no-limit hold'em table. The two moved up to $25/$50 after some time and then $50/$100... Polk was getting his ass kicked... and after some time he suspected that something was wrong when his opponent called huge 4 bets with 83 off-suit and raised every spot in 3 bet pots when Polk didn't have a good hand.
"I began to get absolutely wrecked," Polk explained. "He was leading 45%, min 3-betting and calling huge 4 bets with 83o, and then also c/r and c/f 28%. In 3 bet pots he raised every spot I didn't have it, and was c/f at an alarming frequency when I had the goods. I was beginning to get worried."
He contacted PokerStars after the match to inform them about his suspcious opponent. He received a call from support a week later and they informed him that they were investigating the matter. On April 19, he was informed that "Forbidden536"'s account had been frozen as they suspected that he could see Polk's cards during the heads-up match. On June 26, PokerStars refunded the money he had lost and said that he was a victim of a superuser-style attack.
Douglas Polk suspects that the person behind the alias "Forbidden536" is UK IT specialist Joshua Tyler. Tyler and Polk were introduced to each other through Daniel "jungleman12" Cates. Tyler stayed at Polk's flat in Las Vegas several times after they got to know each other. According to Polk, one of his roommates saw Tyler go into his office one time when he was not at home, and it was after Tyler's visit from March 22-24 that the heads-up match against "Forbidden536" took place.
"One of my roommates saw Josh go into my office. The office is only accessible if you walk through the master bedroom into a balconied hallway that leads to it; the office is the only room in this area. My laptop is stored in my office, and is my exclusive computer used for poker while traveling. I don't understand why Josh would be in my office to begin with, nor what happened while he was there."
