Global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has released a list of the top five fraud attempts related to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The World Cup attracts the attention of millions of football fans around the world. Fraudsters take advantage of this critical period to use various techniques to arouse the interest of football fans.
In a recent blog post, Kaspersky unveiled the top five scams profiting from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after Kaspersky experts analyzed World Cup-related phishing websites around the world that aim to steal the World Cup. identity and steal users’ bank details.
As tickets for matches at this year’s event are only available digitally, scammers have increasingly created scam websites to offer fake tickets.
“Kaspersky experts have detected numerous phishing sites claiming to sell FIFA match tickets. Needless to say, users of these sites lose personal, banking and money information,” the report said.
The second most common form of fraud is fake gifts. Kaspersky reports that its researchers have found phishing sites offering a chance to win two World Cup tickets. “Often each user becomes a ‘lucky’ winner and only has to pay shipping costs.
The third form of scam involves stealing user credentials through fake FIFA-related merchandise stores. Scammers can trick users into sharing their information or transferring money by offering team t-shirts, phone cases featuring well-known players, and autographed soccer balls.
The fourth category of World Cup-related scams are crypto and NFT scams. “A distinctive feature of the threat landscape on the eve of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is the active proliferation of various crypto scams, primarily exploiting the popularity of NFTs,” Kaspersky said.
These scams encourage users to bet on a game and win cryptocurrency or NFTs. They ask users to enter the credentials of the crypto wallet so that the profit is transferred directly. However, once the crooks obtain the credentials of the wallet, users’ wallets and all savings are looted.
“Another scam is the crypto investment scam. Scammers actively create real coins and convince a user to invest in them while promising the victim potential currency appreciation. In reality, these are almost never successful and users spent money on something, which will never grow,” the post read.
Finally, users should also beware of fake flights and accommodations. Kaspersky experts have warned that phishing sites posing as airlines offering tickets to Doha could attempt to trick users into entering their credit information.
Still, it’s wise to check a link before clicking on it and avoid new, unreliable companies.