Emails which invite you claim free stake money on so-called casino websites have been spamming a lot of inboxes recently.

99% of these websites are what’s known as ‘phishing’ clones designed specifically to steal your details and drain your bank account.

When you enter these sites you’re treated to a fanfare of ‘free cash’ promises. You might be offered £500, £1,000 or more ‘free cash’ to play with (in a variety of different currencies).

These sites are carefully designed to look credible and usually include familiar credit card logos (Visa, Maestro, Mastercard etc) to lull you into a false sense of security. Some even go so far as to add ‘gambleware’ and betting awareness group logos as well.

Stay Safe: Don’t click anything, download anything or pass on any of your details…

It’s extremely important not to click on any links or download anything from these sites. They often specially designed software to ‘invisibly’ steal your personal details without you knowing about it.

Here’s how it works…

When you click the ‘enter’, ‘play’ or ‘claim your free cash’ button they prompt you to download a file which usually ends in .exe. DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS on this site or any site that you’re not 100% familiar with. These .exe files will open or ‘execute’ automatically once they’ve downloaded and can snaffle all sorts of information from your computer. They often install spyware on your hardrive which enables criminals to monitor your activity online or worse still steal personal your details and even operate your computer remotely.

These sites are extremely dangerous. If you enter your card details you could find yourself in seriously hot water as many of these websites are operated in territories not subject to the same online policing and protection laws.