Be careful where you stream your high school sports

CHARLOTTE — If you can’t make it to your child’s big game, you can probably find it streaming online; but a new warning from the Better Business Bureau says to be careful where you’re watching.

More websites began popping up and offering online streams of local sports games when COVID-19 kept people away from high school fields. Now, some fans have found that they prefer watching from a computer or their phone.

“My son plays a lot out of state, and so we watch,” one parent told Channel 9′s sister station in Boston.

But there are scammers among the legitimate streaming websites. Experts say social media is loaded with fake websites that look like real streaming services.

Viewers will commonly look through their school’s social media pages and find comments that look like other fans sharing a link to the game. The post looks legitimate, but the next screen asks for personal information and a credit card.

The Better Business Bureau says these scam sites are on the rise.

Here’s what you can do to make sure the stream is the real deal:

• First, check directly with the school, district, or league for an official link.
• Research any third-party website before paying or entering personal information.
• Pay by a credit card, not a debit card, in case you need to challenge the payment.
• Make sure it’s a secure site -- you can tell if the address starts with HTTPS://. (The S is the important part.)
• Be careful about clicking any link in social media posts, unsolicited text messages, or emails.

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