Playing online casino games is as natural to us today as making bank transfers on our cell phones. Playing bingo online with your friends is a great way to develop your skills, unwind and be sociable without having to leave behind the comforts of home. It is even possible to hone your bingo skills through tutorials and blogs that teach you bingo strategies.
Yet, while we all want to play bingo to win, to get the most out of your gaming experience and avoid anything unpleasant happening, we recommend following a handful of easy tips and tricks to stay safe online all the time.
How Safe Are You Online?
When you play online bingo, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun of bonuses, jackpots and chat rooms, but with so much going on, you could let your guard down, which is sometimes all it takes for someone to take advantage of you.
It’s common for individuals to fall prey to hacking or virus attacks on their accounts or computers while using the internet, especially when they’re not cautious. However, the good news is that there are a few simple measures one can take to ensure safety and enjoy online gaming with a peaceful mind.
Guard Your Personal Information
We start off our list of tips about how to play bingo online safely with this one: never give out personal information unless you know who you’re giving it to. This is the kind of thing we instinctively avoid doing in our offline lives and it’s a good rule of thumb for online interactions too. Treat every bit of information about your life as potentially valuable.
Safeguarding personal information is crucial, which means it’s essential to protect both obvious details such as birthdate, address and social security number and less obvious details such as the name of your pet and your children’s school. In today’s tech-savvy world, hackers can exploit any information about you and your family to gain access not only to your online bingo account but also to your bank account.
How can you prevent this? While socializing in chat rooms it’s advisable to be on the lookout for individuals who inquire about personal information in a suspicious or intrusive manner.
This also applies to scam emails. Some will even display the correct bingo logo, but look out for red flags such as a sender address that looks suspicious, spelling mistakes in the email and failure to address you by name. If you’re in any doubt, contact customer services and ask if the email is legitimate.
Know Your Online Neighborhood
There are plenty of sites that offer attractive incentives to play online slots and bingo games, but if you’re thinking about trying out a new site or you’re a newcomer to online gaming, do a check before signing up and making a deposit. A bit of quick research will confirm whether you’re joining a legitimate, licensed site or not. A licensed business will give you the following benefits.
- added protection of state government oversight
- the assurance that all games on the site are fair
- the additional assurance that cybersecurity protocols have been put in place
- accessible support and fast, efficient banking methods
Another tip is to ensure that the site’s contact details are on the up and up. Reach out to customer services, so you know you have a comeback option if anything goes wrong. A Google search is another great way to check for scam sites.
Look Out for a Secure Site Connection
Now that you know your site offers licensed bingo games online, it’s time to check that the site is serious about its own security. You’ll find this in the form of a green lock symbol in the address bar, while the website address should be preceded by “https.” This means the business has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure it’s as hard as possible for hackers to get their hands on your payment information.
Playing your preferred online games at any time and from any place is convenient, but it’s essential to avoid using public WiFi or 4G connections, especially when engaging in financial transactions. Whenever possible, restrict online transactions and gameplay to your own secure WiFi or a trusted connection.
Read the Terms and Conditions
Part of the sign-up process involves accepting the site’s terms and conditions. It might take a few minutes of your time, but it’s worth the read. Keep an eye out for the rules around collection of winnings and how the site will treat your personal information.
For example, some sites may ask you to agree to let them sell your personal data to third parties (although you can usually opt out by ticking a box.) If what you read in the fine print feels intrusive to you, look at any issues flagged by customers in the review section and base your opinion on that.
Password Protection
By now, you know how important it is to keep your password safe. A few simple tips include creating a password for your bingo online account that’s not easy to guess. Stay away from birthdays, your house number or middle name. The strongest passwords use a combination of upper and lower case letters as well as some symbols and digits.
Employing a mix of letters, numbers and symbols in your password makes it challenging for third parties to guess each letter or digit correctly. It’s also crucial to store your passwords securely, whether it’s in a digital format or on paper. Although it may seem like a convenience, avoid clicking on “remember me”. Instead, type your login credentials every time you log in.
Safe Online Transactions
Whether you’ve been playing traditional bingo for years or you’re completely comfortable with daubing your online bingo cards, you’re probably familiar with online or electronic payments. The common sense rules of online banking should apply to how you handle deposits and withdrawals into and out of your player’s account.
Many gaming sites provide the option of using payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe and SecurePay, which can add an extra layer of security to your player transactions. When using these gateways, instead of linking your credit card directly to your bank account, you transfer money from your bank account to an intermediary who forwards the funds to the gaming site, thereby increasing the safety of your transactions.
Play the Best Online Bingo Games at Borgata Bingo
At Borgata Bingo, New Jersey residents can try their luck on a range of exciting games. They can play Slingo online alongside classic 75-ball and 90-ball bingo rules and variants and jackpot slots.
See what incredible gameplay is on offer when you play online bingo, live dealer casino games and some of the best Slingo games available online. Download the app via iOS or Android or register to join the party at Borgata Bingo.