Safety and security is one of the most important considerations of an online gambler. Although winning money is the biggest reason why people gamble in online casinos, there is also an overwhelming need to emphasize security. After all, what's the point in aiming for big money if you lose money in the first place?
The Internet is a free place, which means that any Tom, Dick and Harry can set up a website and claim to be an online casino. This has led to the proliferation of online gambling scams and fraud. Some websites masquerade as online casinos and rob money from unsuspecting players. Others offer products for sale to online gamblers that turn out to be junk.
Still other online casinos have vague security procedures, making players' data and information vulnerable to hackers and thieves. Online thieves and hackers don't have to fool anyone into giving them money. They just steal your passwords, gain access to your account and grab your credit card details. Next thing you know, someone had made unauthorized purchases using your credit card.
Another fraudulent method used by cyber criminals is phishing, or the creation of fake, look-alike websites. The thief makes a website that looks exactly like the original website (usually a popular one) and e-mails you to update your account details on the fake website.
Unless you are very careful, you might end up giving away your username and password to an online thief. Be sure to check the URL address of the website to see if is the URL of the original site. Don't just click on a link from an e-mail asking you to update your account. Legitimate online casinos don't do that and will ask you to update your account only when you are logged in to their site.
So how will you know if an online casino is for real? Go to a reputable online casino review site and read the comments, reviews and questions posted by other online gamblers. Do a search using the name of the online casino in question and add the word "scam." So if an online casino is named "XYZ Casino," your search phrase should be "XYZ Casino scam."
Legitimate online casinos are known for their great site design, high-quality games and excellent customer support. If an online casino has numerous design flaws (misspelled words, non-working links, missing pages, etc.) and is slow in replying to e-mails, maybe it is a scam casino.
Reliable online casinos also use industry-standard gambling software such as those created by Playtech and Wagerlogic. The quality of software is important because some hackers try to gain access to your computer using poor or dubious online gambling software.
Stay on the safe side and gamble only on legitimate and reputable online casinos. Don't throw caution to the wind. Remember, it's easy to win money from online casinos, but it's much easier to lose money to online fraud and scams if you're not extremely careful.
