Hassle-Free

Prepaid cards are easy to obtain.  Most of them can be purchased at retail stores for the dollar value of your choosing.  For the most part, a prepaid card works the same way as a credit card, mainly because the transfer of your money is essentially instantaneous.  The major difference is that credit card transactions can often be rejected if a player exceeds the limit allowed by the card issuer or for various other reasons.  This is not the case with prepaid cards because the issuing institution already has your funds, meaning there is no reason for them to block your transaction.

More Secure

Another reason prepaid cards are catching on so fast is because they are far more secure than credit or debit cards.  Sure, online casino operators take a variety of security measures to protect the sensitive information associated with credit and debit cards, but that does nothing to deter a motivated cyber criminal.  Hackers are drive to thieve credit card data because they can either use it to make purchases it or sell it off to someone else.  Prepaid cards have fixed amounts and the moment you enter the number at your online casino, that entire amount is transferred to your player account.  At this point, there is nothing for the hacker to gain and the prepaid card is essentially worthless.  These cards are not linked to your bank account number or any other sensitive details, which should help you sleep much easier at night.

More Discreet

Credit and debit card payments are typically facilitated through a bank account.  Online payment services usually require you to fund your account with a bank account or credit card.  This documentation creates a trail that leads right back to the online casino.  With a prepaid card, this is something you do not have to worry about, making it a perfect alternative for players who would prefer to gamble online in a discreet manner.

Helps Stop Problem Gambling

Prepaid cards can be very effective in preventing compulsive gambling.  For example, players can simply buy the card for the exact amount they are able to afford and halt temptation in its tracks when playing at an online casino.  As we touched on before, once that money is transferred into your account, the card is useless.  This means that no matter how much you are tempted, you can’t replenish the card and risk more money.  In order to play again, you must go out and purchase another one, which could prove to be very inconvenient.  With credit cards, giving into temptation and taking out more money is generally much easier, providing some players with the leeway that puts them on the road to problem gambling.  You can avoid this by playing at an online casino that accepts prepaid cards.

Sometimes these messages originate from what appears to be a valid casino email account.  In most cases, the tone of the message is urgent, making it seem as if you need to act fast before some sort of action taken against you.  Almost always, these spoofed emails try to persuade you into clicking on a link, which then redirects you to rogue website where you are prompted to enter the login credentials for your online casino account.  Th sole purpose of this scam is to steal your information to commit fraud or full fledged identity theft.

Identifying Phishing Bait

Phishing is a very serious crime that poses a direct threat to your identity and financial assets.  Fortunately, avoiding this scam is quite easy.  Just like most threats, the best way to deal with this one is prevention.  Below we have provided a few tips to help you identify phishing emails:

Urgent Tone - As we touched on above, phishing emails often have a strong sense of urgency and portray that there is a major problem with your account.  They will typically threaten to cancel your account if you do not respond with the requested information.

HTML Links – The second big indicator is the request to click on a provided link in
the email to confirm your account details.

Suspicious URLs - Some phishing emails have to be observed very closely in order to distinguish them from legitimate messages.  This is because they often look identical to what you would receive from online casino operator.   You can often tell the real from the fake by looking at the embedded links in the email.  It could be something as simple as the inclusion or exclusion of “www” attached to the website URL.

Poor Grammar - While their plans are often cleverly concocted, con artists often make obvious spelling or grammatical errors that give them away to the trained eye.  These errors are sometimes done purposely to bypass spam filters but could actually keep you from making a tremendous mistake.

Protecting Yourself Against Phishing

Likewise, there are a few simple steps that can help you protect yourself against phishing scams.  Here are some important tips that work every time:

Avoid Clicking Links – If you believe the email you are reading could be spam or a phishing trap, never click on any link in the body of the message.

Do Not Opt Out – Never opt out or unsubscribe to a suspicious email.  Spoofers often give you these options simply to formulate a list of active email accounts.

Keep up with Your Casino Account – You can protect yourself from phishing just by knowing the status of your account.  A reliable casino operator will provide an interface that makes it simple to know what is going on with your account at all times.

]]> http://onlinecasinospotlight.com/2009/08/identifying-and-preventing-phishing-in-online-gaming/feed/ 0 http://onlinecasinospotlight.com/2009/06/the-importance-of-online-gambling-security/ http://onlinecasinospotlight.com/2009/06/the-importance-of-online-gambling-security/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:41:59 +0000 gracechen http://onlinecasinospotlight.com/?p=21 As internet gambling continues to soar into popularity, the issue of online casino security increasingly becomes a major concern for players looking to cash in.  When it comes to gambling in general, you have to determine just how much you are willing to lose.  If you are dealing with an insecure casino site, you could end up losing far more than you bargained for.  Because of this, the first step you need to take towards online gambling is finding a secure casino.  The best way to ensure this is making sure you are dealing with a reputable company.

There are literally hundreds of casinos online, all offering you the chance to sign up and take your shot at the jackpot.  Unfortunately, many of these casinos do not have a good reputation.  Almost any online gambling site will let you play, but it is up to you to find one that you can trust.  Because online gambling has been closely tied with so many scams, some expert players suggest finding a casino that allows you to play for free before placing any real wagers.  This is very understandable because when you are playing for free, there is no money to lose.  Even then, you need to be very careful as free casino games have been associated with malicious programs such as viruses, Trojans and spyware.

Knowing Where to Look

You can learn a lot about internet gambling sites by reading reviews.  These sites are very useful as they can tell you what to expect in terms of bonuses, payment and withdrawal options, gaming software and the level of security.  If the feedback from other members indicate that the casino is not reliable, there is a great chance that the site is also lacking in the security department and could put you at risk.  Taking a gamble with a company you know nothing about could put you in a situation where you lose your money and possibly your identity, especially if the casino doesn’t put security first.

Proceed with Caution

As someone new to online gambling, you should take it upon yourself to find out more about the security measures a casino employs by doing a little investigating.  A reputable company will publish this information and make it easy to find.   If there security policies are sketchy and not comprehensive, you should probably find yourself a new casino to play at.  Furthermore, when your money and personal information is on the line, you should never hesitate to contact the casino staff and gather more details about their level of security.  If the online casino is truly reliable, it should have no problem answering your questions until you are completely satisfied.

When you don’t make security a priority, the gamble you take at an online casino could be much more than rolling a pair of cyber dice.  The internet is a haven for hackers, malware writers and more scams than you could ever imagine.  If you don’t feel that a particular online casino can provide you with adequate security, keep moving along until you run across one that does.

No Encryption, No Gamble

When it comes to internet casinos, it is a good rule of thumb to look for a site that offers a level of security similar to online banks and e-commere stores.  These sites protect their transactions with a security protocol known as SSL.  SSL stands for Secure Lockets Layer and enables a method that creates an encrypted tunnel for sensitive information to pass through.  This basically means that instead of your credit card or bank account information traveling over the internet in plain text, it is scrambled in a manner where the content cannot be viewed even if it was to be intercepted by a cyber thief.  Although most online casinos incorporate SSL certificates, the level of encryption is what you need to pay attention to.  128-bit encryption is currently the industry standard, which essentially means that anything less has been rendered insecure.  Before opening and funding an account, you need to make sure your casino has mechanisms in place to protect you against the roaming threats.

Beyond Secure Transactions

Having a safe way to transfer funds is good, but it isn’t enough to ensure the full-proof security you need to gamble at an online casino.  Once the information arrives at the casino, how do you even know if will be sold or misused in some other way?  You will never know unless you are absolutely sure that you are dealing with a reliable casino.  So, how do you get the proof?  It is actually a simple process that shouldn’t take up much of your time.  In order to prove reliability, an online casino should meet the following criteria:

Be Licensed

Any casino you want to play with should be licensed by a certain jurisdiction.  This basically means that a local jurisdiction such as Antigua or Barbuda has provided them with an official license to legally host a gambling site on the internet.  If the casino has no such license, you shouldn’t play there.  It is as simple as that.

Have Reputable Software

The underlying software plays a major role the efficiency of the game and security as well.  This is especially true if you intend on downloading the application onto your computer.  To make sure you are not unknowingly infecting yourself with malware or using an insufficient gaming platform, check out the software and find out who produced it.  Some reputable names you may want to look for are Cryptologic, Microgamming and RTG as they are industry-leading software developers.

Legitimate Payouts

Online casinos often publish reports detailing estimates on how much they paid out in the form of winnings.  Be that as it may, these reports can be altered or bogus entirely.  To make sure a casino is honest about its payouts, check these numbers with an independent accounting firm.   Price Waterhouse Coopers has a great reputation for helping new players find out if they are dealing with a respectable casino, or another fly-by-night crook.