TULSA, Okla. — Scammers are always on the lookout for new ways to rip you off and now they’re going after fans of high school and youth sports.
Streaming of games became popular during the pandemic when many fans weren’t allowed to attend games, and now the trend continues.
The Better Business Bureau warns if you want to watch the local high school game, beware of sports streaming scams.
Mike, from Tulsa, told 2 News about a scheme, “I recently signed up to watch a streaming version of a baseball game my grandson was playing in. I found the link to watch in a social media post. The cost of the stream was only a dollar. All I had to do was sign up for an account with some personal information and add a debit or credit card number. I quickly found out it was a scam.”
As soon as Mike signed up, he received a notification he'd been charged 60 bucks to a company he hadn’t heard of. He said he googled the company name and tried calling the number listed for it, but all he could do is leave a voicemail.
But then, fortunately, Mike received a fraud alert from his bank listing the company name and the $59.99 charge. The bank declined it until Mike could verify the transaction.
While Mike wasn’t out any money, he was out some time and he had to cancel the current card number and get a new one.
The BBB says scammers target both high school and other youth sporting events. They're infiltrating social media with links to fake streams.
The posts will often tag the schools or youth team names to make them appear more legit.
The cyber crook takes the financial and personal information you entered to rip you off, either your money or even your identity.
Bottom line, if you want to watch a specific school or youth team’s game, check with them directly to see if they have any legitimate streaming options available.
2 News found more ways to protect yourself from similar online scams.
- The Better Business Bureau said to research any website at BBB-dot-org before paying any money or entering any information.
- Pay by credit card, when possible, in case you need to challenge a payment, like Mike did.
- Check a site’s security settings.
- Secure sites should start with H-T-T-P-S.
- You should see a picture of a small, closed lock in the lower right corner.
- Be cautious before clicking links on unexpected emails or texts, as they can download malware on your device.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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