Scam pages and streams

Unfortunately, as many sports have faced, bowls has continued to be the target of online scammers, particularly across social media platforms such as Facebook.

Ahead of a big two weeks of World Championships action, a reminder to be vigilant when watching streams and interacting on social media.

There are many scam links and copycat pages, profiles and groups being created, and while we do our best to block them, they do occasionally get through.

These scammers create fake pages, profiles or groups imitating as official bodies such as Bowls Australia, World Bowls Championships 2023 or World Bowls.

Here are a few tips to avoid scammers this World Bowls Championships:

  • NEVER click on a link which says it will take you to a live stream. We will never do that
  • Our streams are free. If the link is asking you for payment, it’s a scam
  • If ever unsure about a link, firstly don’t click on it, but you can look at the address, for instance if it is 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐧-𝟏.𝐜𝐨𝐦 for instance, thats not real
  • Look at the number of “friends” and previous posts. Fake pages often have few friends as they are new and there will also be a lack of old posts
  • Scam pages often have bad grammar and spelling
  • NEVER submit credit cards details or payment details. Our streams are free
  • There is no official World Bowls Championships page or profile, so do not interact with anyone purporting to be from there, this is a scam
  • Bowls Australia does not post content onto groups, only the official BA Facebook page
  • WBC2023 content will be shared via the world2023.bowls.com.au and bowls.com.au websites, as well as the Bowls Australia, World Bowls and other official member nation social media channels
  • You can tell the official Bowls Australia page is legitimate several ways:
    • Blue tick
    • 42k+ likes
    • 114k+ followers

As always, if you’re unsure or have any questions, please email media@bowls.com.au.

Below is a list of known FAKE accounts, pages and groups. Do not join or follow these groups, and if you know anyone who does, let them know to leave them. DO NOT JOIN THESE GROUPS OR PAGES, THIS ALERT IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE THEY ARE SCAMS.