The Super Bowl, which will be played tomorrow in Atlanta between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams promises to be a hugely popular event with an estimated viewing audience of well more than a hundred million people. Every year, it is the most watched television program of the year. But not everyone watches television on their television and while most viewers will be watching the game via cable television, an increasing number of people are cutting the cord and using their computers or smart televisions to stream content and many of these people, particularly people between the aged of 18 and 24 will be watching the game in that manner. CBS sports which will be carrying the game also will be providing a streaming version of the game through CBS All Access, CBSSports.com and through Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and Chromecast. But all of these streaming options cost money and some people will be looking to watch the game for free and that is where the problem comes in. Doing a search engine search for free ways to watch the Super Bowl runs the risk of coming up with sites that promise a free streaming of the Super Bowl, but instead provide a free way of unwittingly downloading malware on to your electronic devices such as ransomware or keystroke logging malware that can lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft.
Another scam to be wary of is purchasing official Super Bowl merchandise such as jerseys online. While it is relatively easy to examine merchandise when you purchase it at a brick and mortar store for the substandard quality of counterfeit merchandise as shown by low quality fabrics, loose stitching and off-center logos, you can never be sure when you buy Super Bowl merchandise online as to whether it is legitimate or not. In addition, official NFL merchandise will have a hologram tag attached to the item, which is readily apparent in a store, but not when purchasing online.
TIPS
If you are going to stream the game online use one of the legitimate online sources, such as Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and Chromecast to watch the official CBS broadcast of the game. It is just too risky to trust a search engine result for a free streaming of the game. It is important to remember that neither Google nor any of the other search engines are able to prevent clever scammers from manipulating the algorithms used by the search engines to achieve a high position in a search engine search. Do the right thing.
As for buying Super Bowl merchandise online, the same rules for purchasing anything online apply. If the price looks too good to be true it generally is. Also you are better off buying from established companies with good reputations and always pay with a credit card rather than a debit card because if it is a scam, it is simpler and easier to cancel the order with your credit card at less risk than if your debit card is used for such a purchase.
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