Online fraud and other such nefarious activity is becoming more and more common. It is not out of the realms of the possible that someone might be able to gain access to your betting account, but what can be done if they do?
This is obviously a tricky area to know what to do about, given that you’ll likely find it tricky to re-gain access to your account and therefore re-claim what is rightfully yours. The good news is that someone is unlikely to be able to withdraw money to their own account from yours, thanks to the KYC rules that are in place.
Know Your Customer rules say that betting sites have to have knowledge of who it is that is placing bets with them, including where their money has come from. This is in order to avoid a situation whereby someone could be engaged in something illegal such as money laundering.
As a result, accounts and details like your name and address have to be verified as part of you having an account. This often means that money has to be withdrawn to the same account that it was deposited from in the first place, which is good news.
What To Do Immediately
It is difficult to know that someone has taken your betting account details. If they have, there is a good chance that they will change your login details (although they might also need access to your email to do this), meaning that you won’t be able to gain access to your account and therefore wouldn’t know that someone has been placing bets on your behalf, for example.
That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing that you can do, however. The first port of call is the betting site or bookmaker in question. All reputable companies have good customer service procedures, so you can get in touch with them and discuss what has happened.
The problem is, you’ll need to be able to prove to them that your account has been compromised. After all, you will almost certainly be asking them to void any bets that were placed by someone other than you and that would be a good excuse for anyone that has lost a number of bets and wants to get the money back. This is all something that will be discussed with the betting company in question, given that each one will have its own procedures in place for just such an incident as the situation in which you find yourself.
What Someone Might Be Able To Do
If your betting account has been compromised, there are a few things that the nefarious party might be able to do. For starters, they will be able to place bets with the money that you’ve got in your account. Whilst that might be annoying and inconvenient, it isn’t the worst thing that could happen and there’s no guarantee that such bets will end up being losers.
Another thing that they can do is deposit money into your betting account from the payment method that you’ve got linked to it, which is something that you’ll notice pretty quickly and be able to speak to your bank about. If you use a debit card they will need the CVV number but if you use eWallets and other funding sources they may be able to add money this way.
One of the first things that such a person is likely to do is to change your login details. Some betting sites will have the ability to add two-factor authentication to your account. Whilst this can be a bit inconvenient and annoying when you want to login quickly to place a bet, it is worth doing because it can save you a lot of hassle if your account is ever compromised. Someone trying to change your email address or password is something that will be flagged up immediately and you’ll know about it thanks to what is known as 2FA.
What They Probably Won’t Be Able To Do
The good news is that, as long as you bet with a reputable and trustworthy company that is licensed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, whoever gets access to your account shouldn’t be able to make a withdrawal from your betting account.
The rules and regulations on money laundering are such that people have to stick with the same bank for their deposits and withdrawals. In other words, even if they made a withdrawal it would have to go to your account rather than the account that they’re trying to add.
In order to comply with the UKGC’s Know Your Customer rules, betting sites need to confirm your name, address and other information. As a result, trying to change something like your bank account information is extremely difficult. That isn’t the same as saying that it will never happen, of course. The internet is full of stories from people claiming that their betting account information as stole from. It isn’t always true, but when it is, you can at least be happy that your winnings won’t be taken away from your too easily.
Ask The Site For Help
Believe it or not, bookmakers don’t like to be adversarial with punters. It is in their interest to keep you as a happy and content as they can, so there are a number of things that they’ll be able to do to help you out. They will be able to change your login details to something only you know, for example, locking the nefarious character out of your account. They will also be able to ban the I. P. address from which they operate. This should stop them from so easily gaining access to your account in the future.
Ultimately, you will be ok if you are able to prove that it wasn’t you placing certain bets. Given the behaviour of some, who would like to lie or obfuscate, it is vital that you have as much evidence as you can muster that your account was compromised before deciding hoe you want to proceed. It isn’t a perfect system, of course, but it is, unfortunately, the only system that works well and is operated in the UK. You will likely be fine, but the more information that you have the more likely it is you’ll get your lost money or wagers back.