According to law enforcement officials, cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated than ever as they attempt to steal money from people who send funds to and from their accounts via online transactions. They estimate that tens of billions of dollars are being lost every year to fraud.
Online gamers are vulnerable to the tactics used by scammers because they transfer money to and from their casino accounts on a regular basis and aren’t always aware when a cheat diverts their money to a scam site.
SlotoCash online casino encourages casino members to take basic security precautions to safeguard the money that they send to and from their casino account.
Dangers
The AARP’s Fraud Watch Network reports that police and prosecutors are overwhelmed by the exponential growth of Internet and telephone scams. The Network cautions that only a few of the perpetrators ever get caught and victims rarely get their money back.
The scams seem endless – offers of “technical support”, messages that seemingly come from recognized financial institutions, messages that seemingly come from government institutions, messages that seem to come from the recipient’s casino operators, false messages from relatives, offers to convert fiat currency into crypto and more.
The scams often originate with phone or email messages that seem legitimate but are not. By the time the innocent recipient of the grift begins to become suspicious, their funds have often disappeared, siphoned into foreign bank accounts or converted into hard-to-track cryptocurrency.
Tracing the scams is made even more difficult because some law enforcement agencies don’t take the financial scams seriously and many victims don’t report the fraud because they’re embarrassed at having been scammed.
Investigators aren’t even certain that a fraud has taken place when the scam seems to be consensual – for instance, when a victim sends money voluntarily through a wire transfer – and then doesn’t follow through in the investigation.
At the federal level, if the fraud doesn’t reach a specific dollar amount (thresholds differ from one locale to the next), federal authorities won’t get involved at all.
Types of Online Financial Scams
There are multiple types of online financial scams that casino players and others who engage in online banking should watch out for.
The most common online scams are phishing scams where fraudsters send messages, emails or links to fake websites that seem to come from legitimate sources (shops, banks, government offices). The goal is to get people to react to these communications so that they can gain access to personal information like passwords, ID numbers or credit card information.
Another type of scam has to do with promises of high returns on investments with little to no risk. Ponzi schemes, fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes and stock market “tips” make up many of these schemes in which the scammer tries to convince the “mark” that they’re making a good financial choice.
You might get a message that encourages you to make a purchase at an online shop. In this scam, the fraudster creates a fake online store or listing or sells non-existent products on a legitimate sales site. The scammer collects the payment and, sometimes, the individual’s credit card information as well. No goods are ever delivered.
Other common types of scams include solicitations for fake charities which use websites, direct emails or social media appeals, tech support scams in which scammers try to trick users into paying for fake services or gain remote access to the user’s computer and then steal personal information and lottery/prize scams where people are told that they have won a prize and only need to “confirm” their contact information by providing personal data.
How to Spot an Online Financial Scam
The good news is that, even with scammers’ increased sophistication, it’s still possible to spot most scam attempts. Some of the things that you should watch for include:
- Unsolicited offers.
- Pressure to act quickly.
- Requests for personal information.
- Unverified websites (lacking the secure HTTPS connection and SSL verification certification).
- Requests for untraceable payments.
- Lack of regulatory status. For casinos, this involves use of regulated online banking institutions and licensed gaming companies.
How to Protect Yourself from an Online Financial Scam
Protecting yourself from online scammers isn’t complicated. You should:
- Use strong passwords that involve both capital and small letters, numbers and symbols. Never share your passwords with anyone. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts.
- Use sites that encourage two-factor identification (in addition to your password and username, you need a code that’s sent to your mobile device in order to get into your phone).
- Install security software to protect your devices including anti-virus and anti-phishing software. Keep your security software updated and ensure your device's firewall is enabled in order to block unauthorized access.
- Monitor your accounts by regularly checking your bank and credit card statements to identify unauthorized transactions. You can set up alerts so that you’re notified immediately of any suspicious activity.
- Don’t click on any links or download attachments without verifying the source.
- Regardless of whether you’re playing on a PC or a mobile device, you should log out after every session.
- Play only at SlotoCash Casino (wink, wink).
Play safely and securely at the online casino by protecting yourself through basic precautions.
