SALT LAKE CITY — It’s that time of year: the biggest tournament for college hoops — the NCAA Tournament, also known as "March Madness."
You may like to fill out a bracket for fun, but for some who like to roll the dice, betting on the big games could be a thrill that ends up costing them.
The landscape of the annual tournament is changing for many states where sports betting is now legal so game-day gamblers might have “more skin in the game” so to speak.
Utah is not one of those states; gambling is illegal here.
“In a state where sports betting is not legal, it’s likely to be even more dangerous,” says cyber analyst Alex Hamerstone. “With March Madness, the betting scams, of course, are going to come to the forefront.”
Just because Utahns might not be able to legally wage a bet from where they live doesn’t mean some may not try to get in on the fun.
Scammers anticipate it.
“The issue is in places where it’s not legal. People are going to still, of course, encounter the chance to bet, whether it’s online or other places,” said Hamerstone. “They may use various mechanisms like a VPN to pretend to be in a different location to access some of these betting sites, etc. Or they may be using third-party services that offer to place bets on your behalf.”
He gives a warning to think twice before you bet.
“The problem is you’re already starting off with an illegal activity, and what’s the recourse? Are you going to call the police and say, ‘Hey, I was betting illegally and someone scammed me out of my money?’ It’s much more difficult in an unregulated environment," Hamerstone said. "It actually can be far more dangerous because the betting opportunities that people have in states where betting is illegal are more likely to obviously have no restriction and regulations.”
Remember those brackets? They’re still a popular means for people to participate in the fun.
But you should probably keep it friendly — take part in pools that are among friends or family.
“People will try to get you to join brackets or things like that, that may not actually exist,” says Hamerstone. “There are still in-person scams so someone may try to get you to buy into one of these things and then leave with your money and you never see them again.”
Since online sports betting is not legal in Utah, you don’t have to worry about the ever-growing list of fake sports betting apps that scammers use to get your bank account information.
As always, if you notice something fishy on your bank statement, don’t ignore it.
“if you’re not someone that bets on sports and you’re getting notifications that your account has been used for a sports betting site, if you’re getting one of those notifications from your credit card company or your bank that you made a deposit at one of the sites, contact your bank or credit card company immediately,” said Hamerstone. “Trust your gut. A lot of these scams just won’t quite feel right — they might seem a little bit off.”
Just as a reminder, consumer experts tell us if you are going to fill out a bracket for fun, you should seek out a reputable site where you will never be asked to input your social security number or your bank information.