If you’re a fan of video gaming, you should realize the potential risks. This is something to think about before entering any gambling event and making any investments at https://cover.gg/. Let’s see five warning signs that would help you avoid falling victim to suspicious sites.
1. Skin-Gambling Sites
Skin-gambling sites allow you to bet on virtual coins. These coins can be exchanged for real cash or skins in the game. While most skin-gambling sites are considered to be illegal, some of them have licenses from official regulators.
Many skin-gambling sites are working with CS:GO skins as a form of payment. This way, they expose gamblers to fraud and put their sensitive information at risk. They simply don’t care about consumer safety by pursuing financial benefits only.
2. Poorly Regulated Sign-Ups
Playing games based on their visual aesthetics is a bad idea. Some of the most popular esports are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), League of Legends (LoL), and Dota 2. In-game aesthetics is known as “skins,” and they are used to bet on gaming events.
While esports betting is a relatively new phenomenon, more countries are exploring the future expansion of online gambling in esports. At the same time, there are particular issues that online gamblers should be familiar with. Some gambling sites rely on match-fixing and low bets, which make them vulnerable to fraudulent activities.
3. Sponsorships
Sponsorships in esports aren’t a new trend. The first deal of this kind saw the world in the mid-2010s when Betway started sponsorship by the Swedish esports team Ninjas in Pyjamas. The agreement was based on financial and marketing benefits for both parties. This approach aims to attract users of one company to notice another company. The quality and reliability of this kind of recommendation aren’t always taken into consideration.
4. Social Media
Hackers and scammers are always looking for new platforms for their harmful activities. Social media like Facebook and Instagram have proved to be great places for promoting suspicious gambling sites and announcing doubtful gambling campaigns. As a user, you must have seen unrealistic promises of huge prizes. Have you fallen for them? You should forget about this idea once and for all.
When you share your personal information on unreliable gambling sites, you most likely make it available to fraudsters. Who knows in which way they will use this stuff?!
By the way, many scammers enter their mobile or proxy IP addresses, which can hardly be traced. These IP addresses don’t reveal geographic information. So scammers use laptops with dongles to generate as many as possible accounts.
5. Streaming Platforms
If you aren’t new to esports, you might have seen that many streamers use their fame to make a profit. Some of them have fooled millions of YouTube users by earning money through clothing lines and endorsement deals. If you gamble using Twitch streams, you should be careful with this kind of thing.
Have you heard about Sliker, a UK-based Twitch streamer? It has become known that he has taken money from gamblers to fund his own gambling activities. This story has been revealed to the public. So many people found out that they were cheated by Silker for years. If you don’t want this happens to you, make sure to check the details before using this or that kind of content.
What to Do After Being Scammed
If the worst thing happens and you fall victim to an esports scam. There are a few things you can do pay solve the problem.
If you paid by credit card, you can ask your card issuer to dispute the charges. This is probably the most effective way to get your money back.
If you pay by wire transfer or another payment method, you can ask the company you sent the money to for a refund. This approach is hardly effective. Nevertheless, it’s worth trying.
The last thing you can do is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC processes complaints about scams in order to stop them eventually.
With the growing popularity of esports, it makes sense for scams to become more and more common. Hopefully, the information above will help you avoid potential scams.