Scammers are everywhere trying to get you to part ways with your money. A current Bitcoin casino scam making the rounds might take you by surprise. Third-party actors use fraudulent casino websites that rob players.
These websites use a legit crypto casino’s reputation, logo, and licensing credentials to create a false sense of security before stealing players’ hard-earned cash.
How it Works: Lure Players In, Fudge the Numbers, and Profit
The scam works like this:
Lure Players In: Players are offered a generous no deposit bonus to play at the site. Players sign up to these sites to take advantage of this sign-up offer.
Manipulated Games: Games are manipulated to deliver a higher payout rate leading to players to “win” more frequently giving the illusion of winning.
Send Money to Get Money: Here’s where the shady part comes into play – after a withdrawal is requested, players are asked to send a “transaction fee payment” that’s worth 10% of the non-existent winnings.
In this particular scam, players are asked to send money via Bitcoin before getting their winnings delivered. If you couldn’t tell by now, the scammers have no intention of sending the funds after the payment is sent.
It’s an innovative scam, because the websites look and feel exactly like a real crypto casino.
Here’s a golden rule to live by: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Why it Works: No KYC Checks, Players Want Winnings
Players love blockchain transactions for gambling because there are no geolocation checks or KYC verifications. Scammers love blockchain technology for this exact same reason. They can remain in the shadows and scam players without ever revealing their identity.
The scam also works because players believe they’ve legitimately won. They’ve signed up, played games and the games have hit. All they need to do now is collect their “winnings”.
What to Do if You’ve Been Scammed
If you’ve been scammed, don’t feel ashamed – this is a sophisticated scam targeting casino players posing as a legitimate online casino with real games.
The only thing you can do to recover from the experience is simple: learn your lesson and tell others about it.
If you spot a prize scam in the wild, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Will You See Your Winnings?
No. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell you’ll see your winnings in a situation like this. Even though scam sites will falsify their records to lure players into a false sense of trust, none of those winnings are real. And the “casino” never intended on paying them out.
Ensuring Safety When Gambling With Bitcoin
Luckily, you can safely gamble with Bitcoin even if you’ve been scammed by one of these sites.
We’re partial to sweepstakes casinos that accept cryptocurrency like LuckyBird.io, Casino.Click and PlayFame, especially because you can sign up and play for free. Then, if you want to redeem your SC for prizes, you can expect a very real Bitcoin (BTC) payment sent directly to your wallet. Best of all, you won’t have to pay a fake fee.
You’ll also want to watch out for some glaring red flags, which include (but aren’t limited to) time sensitive offers, unsolicited bonuses, and being told to act immediately for fear of losing a prize.
Scammers will often use names that sound like well-known sweepstakes or other companies to trick you into trusting them. Prizes are always free to win, and there shouldn’t be incentive to act now. If anyone tries to rush you into making a decision that involves money, that’s a big red flag.
We hope you don’t fall for one of these scams, but even if you do, there are better days ahead.
Stay safe, stay smart, and keep your head up.
