We live in a digitalized world, and a good portion of our purchases are made online. However, while online shopping is a lot more convenient than its traditional counterpart, it is also susceptible to attacks from various third parties.
For that reason, it is important to know that the online store you are visiting is safe and that the website you are leaving your sensitive information with is a secure place. While this holds true for virtually anyone who regularly shops online, it is especially important for gamblers to learn how to stay safe on gambling sites, even more so with so many illegal online casinos around.
In fact, just a while ago, the Chinese police have uncovered a scheme targeting several Asian ecommerce stores that involved illegal gambling operators and courier companies. According to a report from China Central Television, the plot included gambling operators that purchased delivery tracking numbers from courier companies with the intent to conceal illegal money flow.
Namely, the gambling operators used the tracking numbers and created fake deliveries by sending empty packages. The courier company would then deliver the packages, and the bettors would receive the package and claim it in order to make an illegal bet.
Once the consumer receives a package, the ecommerce store pays the merchant. In this case, the merchant was an illegal gambling operator that tried to abuse the system and trick ecommerce companies into thinking the gambling operators were legitimate merchants that made a sale.
The report doesn’t state the exact details of the investigation, nor does it mention the action the internal control has taken against the gambling operators and the courier companies that sold tracking numbers. However, it is safe to assume that the gambling operators were forced to cease any further action.
Furthermore, the government most likely seized the funds involved in the scheme while the investigation is ongoing, which can potentially harm both ecommerce stores and punters who used the services of involved gambling operators.
While these events unfolded on the Asian content, it is not unthinkable that the same, or at least something similar, can happen in the US. In today’s time, online gambling isn’t just a dream for millions of Americans across the country. However, while many states have legalized online gambling, there are still those who show no signs of doing so.
In addition, online gambling laws vary from one state to another, so punters and gamblers are often limited in choice regarding available markets to bet on or online casinos games they can play. In addition, there are plenty of ecommerce platforms in the US one could potentially exploit, such as Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Etsy, and many others.
With all that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of them might look for some action in a grey casino that offers similar services the ones in Asia did.
Fortunately, there is no indication that something similar is happening in the US at the time being, and we can only speculate or hypothesize whether the US ecommerce market is in any real danger or not. However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, and the ecommerce leaders in the US should pay close attention to the developments in Asia to avoid being victims of the same schemes.