You wake up one day and decide to try a little online betting, maybe you’ve seen the success that many people have had with sports betting and you’re looking for a way to try a similar experience with your own money. So you sign up for a skype account, log into your casino account, and place your first wager on the college football upcoming games. But then something happens, something unexpected. The lines move in the wrong direction and you’re wondering if this is a scam. Is this just another online betting scam like so many others or is it something more?
If you’re wondering what the anti-bet is all about then you’re in the right place. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about the anti-bet scam and whether or not it’s actually a scam or just a bad experience that you have to put up with.
The Basics
The anti-bet scam is a type of online scam that targets people who want to try online betting but don’t want to risk losing money. The name comes from the fact that, compared to a legitimate bet, the scammers’ wagers almost always lose. The operators of these scams usually work in teams and it’s usually a member of one of the following groups: gaming operators, payment processors, or online marketing agencies.
These groups have taken advantage of the fact that many people are looking for an easy way to make some extra cash and have created many online betting scams to capitalize on this. But instead of getting scammed by pretending to be a bookmaker or sportsbook and taking your money, you get scammed by a complete fake betting website that doesn’t even exist.
Before we go on, let it be known that we are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. This article is for informational purposes only and we are not suggesting or encouraging anyone to engage in illegal activities. The information here is for educational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for professional, legal advice.
How Does It Work?
The anti-bet scam usually starts with a spam email that pretends to be from a bookmaker or sportsbook and informs the recipient that they’ve been selected to participate in a promotional offer or contest where they can earn a lot of money by betting on certain games. These emails usually contain a link that takes the recipient to a fake betting site where they’ll see a banner advertisement or a generic click-to-click landing page.
The goal of the scam is to get the person to click on that banner or button to get to the fake betting site. Once there, the scammers will ask for personal and financial information, such as credit card numbers and/or Paypal account info. Once that information is given to the scammer, the next step is to lock the user into a long and complicated betting scheme where they’ll need to make multiple deposits and withdrawals to cash out.
For example, let’s say that your name is John Doe and you receive an email from somebody claiming to be from Paddy Power. They may say something like:
“Hey John Doe, congratulations! You’ve been selected to participate in a special promotion where you can earn a lot of money by betting on the upcoming matches. Here’s how it works:
- Go to this website and click on the link in the email to set up an account
- Once you’re on the site, you’ll see a banner ad at the top of the page
- Click on that banner ad
- A popup will appear where you can enter your personal and financial information
- Enter that information and click on the continue button
- You’ll be taken to a new page where you can select the games you want to bet on
- Once you’ve made your selections, you can click on the place bet button
“
If you follow these steps, you’ll end up at a fake betting website that looks and acts just like any other website that you might visit for real. But instead of taking you to a real sportsbook or casino, the scammers will keep you on their site and try to get you to put in more and more money so they can keep the pump-priming going.
Sometimes the scammers will try to get you to download an app to your phone and, once there, get you to register for an account. Once you’ve done that, the next step is to get you to send them money. But you’ll have no way of knowing if what you’re sending them is actually going to them or someone pretending to be them. So, even if you send them money, you could still be sending it to someone trying to scam you.
For more information on the anti-bet scam, check out these blogs posts:
Where Do I Find Out More?
There are several places where you can get more information on the anti-bet scam. One of the best places to start is the Better Business Bureau where you can review the complaint history and, if you have a complaint pending, find out what happened. You can also contact the Federal Trade Commission to see if there are any active investigations into this sort of thing. And, if you want to be extra careful, you can use a VPN to keep your personal details secure when doing online research or to prevent tracking by advertisers or third parties.
How Do I Avoid Being Scammed?
To avoid getting scammed by the anti-bet scam, it’s important to do a little research before you get started. First of all, make sure the website you’re visiting is a real and reputable website. This means checking out their Better Business Bureau profile, looking at reviews, and, if possible, contacting the company directly.
It also means trying to verify that the website is operated from a country where online gambling is legally permitted. If it’s not, then don’t expect to win big or steal people’s money. You’ll just be breaking the law and could end up in trouble.
Make sure to read the terms and conditions of the website before you make any transactions. This way, you’ll know what you’re getting into and won’t be surprised by any hidden charges or fees. And don’t give out any personal information to strange people who email you. While there’s no indication that email scams specifically related to the anti-bet scam are on the rise, you can be sure that these scams will come with annoying email attachments that ask for your personal information.
If you followed these steps, you wouldn’t have any problems avoiding the anti-bet scam. But, even if you didn’t, you could still get scammed by another type of online scam. So, to avoid being scammed, it’s important to be careful and aware of what’s going on around you. People claiming to be from Paddy Power or any other bookmaker or casino that you might have heard of could be scamming you. Always verify that they are, in fact, who they say they are and never give out any personal information, financial information, or account details to someone who doesn’t appear to need it. And if you do get scammed, you can get restitution through the courts or the respective agencies.