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SKY POKER SOFTWARE and Sharkscope
I have been playing online poker for sometime accross various sites.
Apart from my misgivings regarding how random this sites software really is or isnt in relation to how much you bank or dont is one thiing, but i was made aware of something quite concerning earlier today.
YOUR ACCOUNT WINS AND LOSSES AND BUY INS ARE VIEWABLE BY OTHERS.
Whilst playing a cash game i was informed by another player that he knew exactly how much i had won/lost in on SKY POKER since November.
He messaged in the chat box in view of everyone the exact amount.
When i asked how i knew this is said " SHARKSCOPE".
After investigating this software via Google, it seems it is an illegal software/site that gives out a whole array of sensitive information about players of all kinds of Poker and gambling sites.
YET, SKY POKER claim to be one of the most secure sites and claim also that YOUR DETAILS are both secure and private. CLEARLY NOT!
Having spoken to a friend of mine that is a Barrister, he seems to think that SKY are liable for any and all private and sensitive information held about players. Including monetary depositis and withdrawals.
Data Protection Laws are also questionably infringed.
I intend to seek legal advice and have also been advised to write to the office of Fair Trading and the Government Department for Licensing.
What are you're thoughts regarding the lack of security on SKY?
Apart from my misgivings regarding how random this sites software really is or isnt in relation to how much you bank or dont is one thiing, but i was made aware of something quite concerning earlier today.
YOUR ACCOUNT WINS AND LOSSES AND BUY INS ARE VIEWABLE BY OTHERS.
Whilst playing a cash game i was informed by another player that he knew exactly how much i had won/lost in on SKY POKER since November.
He messaged in the chat box in view of everyone the exact amount.
When i asked how i knew this is said " SHARKSCOPE".
After investigating this software via Google, it seems it is an illegal software/site that gives out a whole array of sensitive information about players of all kinds of Poker and gambling sites.
YET, SKY POKER claim to be one of the most secure sites and claim also that YOUR DETAILS are both secure and private. CLEARLY NOT!
Having spoken to a friend of mine that is a Barrister, he seems to think that SKY are liable for any and all private and sensitive information held about players. Including monetary depositis and withdrawals.
Data Protection Laws are also questionably infringed.
I intend to seek legal advice and have also been advised to write to the office of Fair Trading and the Government Department for Licensing.
What are you're thoughts regarding the lack of security on SKY?
Comments
Happy New Year to you too
First up, I've edited the original post title in my capacity as a Mod, I felt it was misleading.
Secondly in answer to your post:
Sharkscope is a data-mining site. It collects tournament result data (not cash games) from the vast majority of poker sites. It collects results and produces them for public display (a small codicil to this is one major site requires an 'opt in' by the player to reveal all of their information, some is shown anyway).
In reference to the Data Protection act: There are no details shown on Sharkscope regarding deposits/withdrawals. There is no link between your online alias and your real life name (unless you release this yourself). There is no contravention with the data protection act. What you are putting forward would be like saying that a Newspaper shouldn't announce the prizemoney a tennis player has made in their career, it's all public information and not in anyway illegal.
In answer to your final question, I am quite happy with the security on Sky. If you have any further questions please feel free to PM me.
Football results are reported on the TV, online and in newspapers. Poker tournament results are reported on Sharkscope, there's not much difference, you cannot hide the result of a competition that's played out in public and is open to anybody to enter.
It's very easy to have your results hidden on Sharkscope if you so wish, see their FAQ section to see how to do this.
If the amounts are not specific, then how is this info so accurate??? This guy was on a cash table that i was on earlier......please xplain how this works as i am not altogether comfortable with the whole security issue of SKY and its process of holding sensitive information securely?
Surely you can see where my concern might arise from.
I still think it wise to take formal advice from a legal source perhaps
No problem....i will get him to do just that.
Good Luck in your games in 2013...i hope your luck changes
You'll have to get your legal experts to take a look at me too, I publish some of this 'sensitive information' in the Tournament Results Thread on this very forum lol.
Hi Si,
All the answers are in the thread.
To summarise:
Sky Poker do NOT pass ANY information to Sharkscope. Not a jot, iota or tickle.
Sharkscope is a data-mining site.
Sharkscope cannot, & does not, track cash game profits or losses.
Sharkscope is not an illegal site.
Sharkscope figures are far from 100% reliable.
Sharkscope's T & C prohibit their information being improperly used, as in using it to abuse others.
Sharkscope do NOT know how much any player deposits or withdraws on this or any other site.
You can "hide" your results on Sharkscope simply by ticking a box.
The gentleman who claimed to know how much you had won or lost on Sky Poker in November was telling porkies. (Translation - he was lying). He does NOT. Probably best to question the motives of a complete stranger who makes such a spurious claim.
The Thread Title was not changed by Sky Poker, it was changed by a Moderator. I don't even know what the thread title was, but we can assume it was non-compliant.
Sharkscope is a very odd animal, & I'm not sure many Online Sites approve of the fact they they effectively take info from the domain & resell it for profit, but that's how it works. They collect & sell freely available information. This is EXACTLY what the Press Association do with sports results.
Data Protection is a very serious matter, & it is wholly respected by Sky Poker. I am in my 7th year with Sky Poker, & I don't have "back office" access, nor will I ever have it.
It serms to me that you have a beef with Sharkscope, rather than Sky Poker.
PS - Happy New Year to you.
If you play on other sites using different names or even the same name, you will also have to opt out of those too as sharkscope collate result from many other poker sites too.
SKY does not give out Personal Data to these types of sites or how much you have spent on the site or any other poker site for that matter. It only shows/collates your MTT & SnG results (NOT CASH)
The information that Sky show, and the fact that you are shown on the site as an alias, means they are not contravening the data protection act.
If you are bothered by it then just go to sharkscope and OPT OUT.
Sky facebook page (I believe) is 'open' for anyone to view and a trend that i have noticed more and more is for competitions where they ask for your 'sky alias' if you wish to enter them. Therefore, we have a situation where most people use their real name on facebook so the 'fb name' and 'sky alias' are married up on the same comment field.
Should this be encouraged ? or reviewed ?.........I only wish to point out a potential problem or concern that could cause someone embarrassment........
What problem could this cause?
Quite a useful tool actually, not so much for skypoker-exclusive players though i guess.
Firstly, one of jurisdiction. As Sharkscope.com isn't a legal entity based in the UK, if you did wish to take out a legal beef with them, to which court and under which country's legal framework would you present it? - a problem with litigating against any party that operates solely online.
Secondly, as for the DPA in all of the time I've done work on it (since it originally game in), the the scope of the Act related solely to personal information relating to living individuals - or another angle would be whether information that was being presented could be used to identify an individual to which it relates. Clearly with Sharkscope.com this isn't the case, as all they publish (and have access to) are player IDs? As SkyPoker don't actively pass personal details of customers to third parties I think any complaint made against them to the Information Commissioner simply wouldn't go anywhere. Just my opinion though.
As for the DPA in general, despite a degree of reactive policing of the Act (by the Office of the Information Commissioner, ie they respond to complaints) there are times when it's clear it isn't worth the paper it's written on, ie where commercial organisations pass on personal information on customers to other parties without the subjects' express consent. One example that comes to mind are the details of insurance claimants being passed to ambulance chasing solicitors practices by insurance companies. Permission to do so, or not, is of course all in the small print.
I use to post in Area 51, but all of the aliens who use to lurk there have now been deported.
It's this part of your statement ie: ("The information that Sky show, and the fact that you are shown on the site as an alias, means they are not contravening the data protection act.")
which holds true on 'this sky forum'....... but is incorrect (imho) wrt the sky fb page, purely bcoz anyone can view it if they wish to........no malice intended just my observation and making others aware if they are concerned about their privacy wrt to using sky fb comp's.....that is all I was trying to achieve ......Happy New Year to both yourself & Tommy ....hope it's a good one.......Billy
1)....If sky fb competitions ask for your alias
2) and your fb name is genuinely your name
3) and you are concerned about your privacy
Then please be aware that this is an area that is open to the general public as opposed to the forum on here, which isn't open to the general public and therefore, private..........I am merely trying to highlight a statement that pokertrev made in an earlier post ....ie: what trevor said re: holds true on this forum but not necessarily on fb. I have already stated and agreed with Tommy re: if you have concerns about your privacy then don't enter the fb competitions that require giving your alias......it's that simple.
I was only jesting of course that all the folk from Area51 are Sceptical of everything.
I do understand your concerns reference "Marrying Up" facebook names with Alias's though.
Personally I don't do facebook, but I do use Twitter and as I was using Twitter for the purposes of others following my sky poker exploits. I signed up to Twitter as "@Pokertrev" rather than using my real name, so I do not have any concerns.
I would suggest though that anyone who enters Sky Poker or any other competitions via Facebook or Twitter etc, doesn't use an account with their real name and then divulge their alias. Set up a new account using the same or similar Alias to your online poker name.
Its really simple to do and that way you are not unintentionally giving out any personal information.
It goes without saying that Sky are not responsible for information which we ourselves have personally made public via the likes of our Facebook or Twitter accounts etc when entering competitions.
We also have an obigation to ourselves to protect our own sensitive data and identity and how it could be used by others. Social networking sites are not the best form of doing this imo which is one of a long list of reasons I do not use facebook, but as long as people are aware of the risks then each to their own I suppose. Just be careful out there.
I am happy with Sky's terms & conditions & policies regarding "Data Protection" and know that the personal data & information they hold regarding my account is secure. I don't hold the same confidence with social networking sites, but that is just my own personal opinion.
https://www.facebook.com/help/249092175207621/
In case that link is forbidden and removed here is a copy/paste from Facebook's rules;
Why doesn’t Facebook allow fake names?
We take the safety of our community very seriously. That's why we remove fake accounts from the site as we find them.
And you doubt that Facebook, with over a billion members, is more secure than SKY with possibly 20 odd 000!!
Same question was raised recently and don't think it was answerred, so maybe you can enlighten me????