Beware This Scam: Online Casino Spoofing

Over the last few months, we’ve been getting repeated complaints involving fake casino sites. There have been about two dozen cases reported between the forum and the PAB, mostly regarding one particular site that seems to be doing an exceptionally good job mimicking a legitimate casino.

These “spoofing” scam operations aren’t going anywhere any time soon, so here’s what to look out for and how to protect yourself.

How Do These Spoofing Scams Work?

The way scammers pull these operations off is quite simple in theory.

First, they choose a domain that resembles the domain of an established casino. Taking the fictional example of “My Best Casino,” their real URL might be “mybest.casino.” The scammers would use domains close to that, such as “mybest1.casino” or “mybestcasino.com.” The differences can be subtle or glaringly obvious.

Second, they copy the appearance of the site. Even if you’re familiar with My Best Casino, you might be unable to differentiate it from the scam at a glance. And if you’ve never even played there, it could appear perfectly legitimate.

Third, they start targeting players. They may attempt to reach people in any number of ways: fake promotional emails, Telegram messages, disguised links, fake popups ads, etc. If you made a deposit, any attempts to withdraw winnings (if the games even work) will result in endless verification loops and excuses.

However, keep in mind that they’re not necessarily just after your money — they also want your data. In fact, some of these operations could be specifically aiming to collect player data for future scam operations or phishing campaigns, or just to access your account at the actual casino site.

What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

Fortunately, if you know what to look for, sniffing out these spoofing scams can be fairly easy:

Step #1: Check the URL. If the brand name includes seemingly out-of-place numbers or symbols in the URL, it’s likely a scam.
Step #2: Check the footer info. From what we’ve seen, most of these scams avoid naming specific companies and brands. You’ll likely see something along the lines of “The Casino is fully licensed and operated by a legitimate company registered in Costa Rica.” Sure, bud, seems legit.
Step #3: Check the license certificate. A licensed casino always displays a certificate you can click to get their full licensing information. Scam sites will often not show one, or they may show a picture you can’t actually click.

Now, not all scammers may be this clumsy, so keep the following in mind as well:

Avoid installing casino apps outside official app stores. Some casinos offer dedicated apps that have to be downloaded from third-party app stores or sideloaded because they didn’t meet Apple’s or Google’s requirements. It’s best to give these a wide berth.
Only follow links from trusted sources like Casinomeister. Avoid links from random popups and bonus offers in your inbox.
Confirm suspicious offers with support. This is the best way to confirm if a bonus offer you got is legitimate or if it’s scammers trying to lure you in.