Online Gambling Western Union Scam Alert

The Off Shore Gambling Association this week posted a warning about a Western Union scam the online gambling community needs to be aware of.

As many of Gambling911.com readers know, Western Union has been a long time mainstay of the industry worldwide. British bookmakers like Ladbrokes proudly push Western Union as a means to send and receive monies for online gambling even though one might think it is more convenient to just show up at a local corner bookmaker shop to place one’s bet.  There are certain aspects of Western Union that make the money transfer service more attractive, however.  We won’t get into that here. 

Let’s look at how the Western Union online gambling scam works, a la the OSGA.

In a nutshell, players are being contacted by individuals claiming to be "sales agents" or "customer service agents" offering very attractive options if they deposit via Western Union.

From OSGA.com:

We got a call from a player this week who was contacted to make a deposit from a 'representative' at one of the sportsbooks he plays at. He was told that he could have a 150% bonus with only a 7X rollover. Before making the deposit the player called back the 800 number that was given to him. There was only a fast busy signal and the call did not go through. Then, the player was smart enough to call the book regarding the offer. He was told that no such offer existed and no such person under that name worked there.

There are specific sportsbooks being targeted at this time, but Gambling911.com will not name them here. 

OSGA.com notes that there are some safeguards that can be taken to avoid being scammed. 

Players need to take extra measures when solicited to make Western Union deposits to sportsbooks, casinos or poker rooms. If you are contacted by a sales agent you never heard from before, offering a promotion that is too good to be true, simply tell them you will call them back and get the 800 number they are calling from.

If they refuse to give you a return phone number or if the phone number is not immediately picked up by the gaming company in question, chances are this is a scam. Contact the gaming company they claim to be calling from and verify if that employee actually works there.

Be forewarned that, just because this scam right now happens to be targeting sports bettors, this doesn’t mean that online poker players cannot be affected.  They are just as vulnerable, if not more so.    

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher