Justin Bonomo recommends poker players to cash out on Venmo as he got hacked twice

Highstakes pro Justin Bonomo has called out mobile payment service Venmo. Furthermore, he recommended fellow players to cash out and close their accounts after being hacked twice and repeatedly failing to get any support from the company…

Poker players, I highly recommend that you cash out your @Venmo accounts and close them immediately

Many poker player accounts have been hacked, and it's a nightmare to even get support to respond to you

My account was first hacked in November…

— Bonologic (@JustinBonomo) February 19, 2021

Even more Venmo accounts got hacked

Among the “many” others accounts hacked Bonomo referred to were those of Daniel Negreanu and Erik Seidel, with DNegs losing $15,000 to the hackers back in November of last year.

The virtual thief then attempted to ride out of town at Negreanu’s expense…

The dude who robbed my @venmo @VenmoSupport account has some balls. Cleaned it out and then still tried to pay for a $43 Uber ride on my dime.

You just stole $15k dude, and you still need to get me for $43 more? Ain’t you a piece of work.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) November 25, 2020

As we reported at the time, Erik Seidel was also hit by the Venmo hackers, and just like Bonomo he was struggling to get any help from the company…

Looks like my Venmo has been hacked & email connected to the account changed. I’ve tried calling, emailing & contacting @venmo & @VenmoSupport with no response for the last hour

— Erik Seidel (@Erik_Seidel) November 24, 2020

The PayPal-owned money transfer service is a very popular way for poker players to send and receive funds, but it is just as vulnerable as any other online service.

Bonomo says he was using the app as the hack happened, revealing: “On two separate occasions, months apart, my account was being hacked in front of my eyes. I IMMEDIATELY emailed them to let them know, asking them to freeze my account.

Venmo’s lack of response left him “so frustrated”, the man who has won $53,263,234 in tournament poker over his career -making him number two in the all-time list – sharing screenshots of Venmo’s lack of response…

Here's just a small taste of what I've gone through during the second time someone took all the money from my account: pic.twitter.com/6uTPQoCDHz

— Bonologic (@JustinBonomo) February 19, 2021

Bonomo unhappy with the customer support

Although he didn’t reveal how much the two hacks cost him, Bonomo detailed weeks of emails being sent with or reply and months of inaction from Venmo, despite his account being vulnerable to repeated hacks.

Bonomo was unable to access his account himself, and it appeared that the 35-year-old was banging his head against a brick wall. Several further tweets showing exchanges with less than helpful Venmo customer support.

“Venmo is now boldly refusing to discuss anything with me, and telling me that my only action is to speak with local law enforcement,” said Justin.

He added: “They won’t even give me basic information such as where all of my money was sent.”

He finished his Twitter attack on Venmo with one final plea…

@Venmo @VenmoSupport @PayPal I'd like to give you a chance to right this wrong. Multiple others have had their funds stolen by the same scammer, and you've helped them retrieve their money. Why won't you help me retrieve mine? Do I really need to bring the law into this?

— Bonologic (@JustinBonomo) February 19, 2021

Advice from fellow poker players varied. Thomas Keeling suggested: “Lawyer up,” while others hinted at the Bitcoin route for future transactions.

“If only there existed some trustless payment system that wouldn’t purity test the money in your account, that was secure by nature, and could offer the user complete control…” tweeted Brian Micon.

Another highstakes pro, Dan Smith, wasn’t impressed with Venmo’s parent company either when he got hacked, asking for alternatives: “Can you recommend a better AP for transfer small debts? PayPal was worthless when I got hacked so I’m won’t give them my business.”

Others were also sharing information on accounts being closed. Apparently, because they were related to poker – something that all poker fans should consider when choosing an online poker wallet or money service.

They’re also cracking down on any accounts that have activity they suspect is related to gambling. I’ve heard of 3 PayPal accounts that were shut down in the past week alone. PP owns Venmo.

— Matt Ernst (@PokerConundrum) February 19, 2021