DraftKings Sends Mass Email, Raising Cybersecurity Concerns
Date: 2024-08-15 Author: Robert Beloved Categories: EVENTS
Earlier this week, DraftKings, a popular betting and gaming operator, sent its customers an unexpected email related to a golf betting rule known as Dead Heat Reduction. This has caused concern among many users, who believe that their accounts may have been hacked.
The reason for the concern is that the email was sent to customers who did not place any such bets. In fact, according to media reports, the email was even sent to markets where DraftKings no longer operates, such as Australia. Some recipients of the email did not have accounts with the operator at all.
This has raised concerns among existing customers that they or the company itself may have been hacked. Other users have speculated that it may be a phishing attack, given the presence of a link in the email.
The text of the email read: “We are writing to you regarding wagers you placed on this past weekend’s golf tournament(s). Because two or more golfers finished in the same money, your wagers were settled under Dead Heat Reduction.”
DraftKings also added a clarification: “Dead Heat Reduction is calculated by proportionally dividing the odds among the number of winners in a specific position (e.g., finish line) in an event.” The email also included information on how payouts are calculated and other details.
The email was sent to a wider audience than intended
The email included a link to a help section on the operator’s official website related to information about Dead Heat Reduction. According to Infoquu, the email was not a scam, as the domains it was sent from belong to DraftKings.
The media outlet has reached out to DraftKings for clarification regarding the mass mailing. A response from a senior company representative named Michael said: “You have received an email regarding a golf tournament over the weekend and the Dead Heat rule that was sent to a larger audience than intended. Please disregard this email.”
There is currently no indication that DraftKings has been the target of a cyberattack. A response from a company representative confirms that the mass email was simply a mistake.
However, the mistake did cause a temporary outage on the operator’s website and app. After receiving the email around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, many DraftKings customers attempted to log into their accounts through the app or website.
This caused a brief outage of DraftKings services, according to data from DownDetector.com. The massive simultaneous access by so many users had an effect similar to a DDoS attack, but fortunately, it was not.
