The new trend was discovered by security firm Symantec. The company was puzzled at first on the increasing number of attacks on small countries such as Antigua or the Dutch Antilles. An investigation brought up the fact that the attacks were aimed at online casinos operating in the territories.

It appears that online scammers found out that it was easier to trick online gamblers into providing them with the login credentials and, therefore, allow them to cash in from the gaming accounts, than it would be to play with similar credentials from online banks:

“In this scenario, phishers could steal players’ email information and then forward them spoofed emails claiming that the player has money in his or her account. The message would include a link to a spoofed Web page that requests the user to enter his or her account information. This information can then be used to steal credit card information.”

The conclusion is simple: if you still have an uncontrollable urge to bet, keep a sharp lookout on what emails you get or just simply head for Las Vegas.