With the explosion of online betting’s popularity, more and more sites have been popping up lately. This trend started during the pandemic, when all establishments deemed non-essential, including bookies and casinos, were forced to close down to minimize people leaving their houses.
Of course, this is all understandable since this is the government’s attempt to minimize the infection rate, which was rampant at the time. However, even though the lockdowns and restrictions have been lifted or at least eased up in some parts of the world, the popularity of online betting sites still hasn’t let up.
Due to this sudden popularity, many betting sites are online nowadays. However, that also meant that online betting scams are also on the rise, with thousands of people getting scammed out of their money daily.
That said, if you don’t want to be the next victim of these online betting scams, you need to know all the most common schemes these scammers do online. This way, you’ll be more protected. With all that said, here are some of the most common online betting scams you should know about.
1. Betting Site Technical Issues
Source: theconversation.com
One common occurrence regarding this scheme is when a player opens their account, bets with their money, and collects their winnings only to discover they can’t access their money. The player would then call customer support and be told that the website is having technical issues.
Of course, this is an outright lie, and they will never get their money back. Some scammers are even so bold that they will tell the player to deposit more money in their account and see if they can access it. However, no matter what they do, they will never get their money back. What’s even worse is that not only your money will be in danger in this kind of scam. Your personal information can also be sold by scammers online.
2. Scamdicappers
Another type of scam you can usually hear online is scamdicappers. All bettors know that horse racing betting odds are very unpredictable. Unless someone knows how to see the future, they would know the outcome of every horse race they will bet on. Of course, this is just fantasy, but you should take note of that. Now, handicappers will offer potential buyers fake online handicapping services that can help them win more bets in horse racing.
Moreover, many of these scammers say that their picks are guaranteed, and they do this by claiming they have insider information. Some of these scammers even claim that they have foresight, which is outright lying. They also tend to pressure potential buyers that their services are limited, which gives the potential buyers more incentive to buy their services.
3. Bonus Scams
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Have you ever considered an online casino offering bonuses and thought it was too good to be true? Veteran bettors usually know how these bonuses work since they have taken advantage of many of them for extra winnings.
Thus, they know the bonuses have some catch before a player can enjoy them. For example, one common bonus is extra money when you make your first deposit in an online casino. You’ll only get this extra money if you deposit a specific amount or more in your account.
Bonus scams usually don’t have catches or are outright ridiculous. If you think their bonus is too good to be true, you should probably listen to your gut feeling. Fake online casinos usually do this to lure in more people to deposit in their accounts, only to find out that these bonuses aren’t true, and the next thing they know, the URL for the online casino doesn’t exist anymore.
4. Sports Investment Scams
Sports investment schemes usually have a mixed reputation. There seem to be many people getting scammed by these types of schemes and claiming that they got rich with this type of scheme. To be fair, the people in the latter might just be enticing people to enroll in these schemes. That said, what are sports investment scams?
These scams work through scammers looking for players to invest in a sports investment fund, promising huge returns by giving the people investing in the fund profits through sports betting. They also claim to offer players a chance to diversify their portfolios by investing in their funds. Of course, these funds are fraudulent, which means there are no existing funds.
Of course, after investing, the player would never hear from them again, realizing they had been scammed. This scam usually looks for people with cash to invest, which means their primary targets are business owners, high-net-worth individuals, retirees, etc. They usually contact these people through business emails, phone calls, text messages, and regular mail.
That said, if these scammers have reached out to you, it’s best to ignore them. Only invest in this scheme if a friend or someone you know verifies the legitimacy of the fund and the investment opportunity.
5. Malware
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When people think about online betting scams, they usually think of malware, and for a good reason. A lot of fake online betting sites and online casinos are malware. What these malware do is that once the person clicks on their links, their personal information on the internet will be obtained.
You will then be blackmailed by taking your personal information hostage. They will threaten you that they will sell your personal information if you don’t give them money. You might want to mind where you click to avoid this.
Final Words
Online betting scams are rampant nowadays. That said, always ensure that your money and personal information are safe by installing antivirus, researching the schemes you encounter, minding where you click, and not trusting what you see and read on the internet.
The internet is unsafe, and you want to ensure your bet is safe and secure. By practicing safe online betting, you won’t have to worry about your money and personal information getting hostaged and you being blackmailed by these online scammers. With all that said, be safe and have fun.
