Football fans warned to watch out for World Cup ticketing scams

15 Sep 09

The warning follows England’s recent World Cup qualification.

Symantec has predicted a huge rise in World Cup-related spam and phishing attacks in the run up to, and during, the 2010 football World Cup Finals in South Africa.

High profile sporting events are a prime opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit fans’ enthusiasm to secure tickets through increased spam and phishing activity, the company says.

Symantec’s Candid Wueest said: “As time draws near fans become increasingly likely to take risks and purchase tickets through unauthorised channels or believe the promises in unsolicited emails.

“This can not only land fans with useless counterfeit tickets, but also lead to the theft of their credit card details and fund organised crime.

“Analysis of spam and phishing attacks around major events in the past has shown an increase in such themed attacks.”

The company says there are three simple best practice steps to avoid cybercrime like this:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - Many criminals use extravagant promises to lure victims into clicking through to malicious sites and divulge personal information

• Never click on links from emails - Links can contain viruses or Trojans or direct users to infected websites

• Buy only from FIFA registered sellers - FIFA has a strict code of conduct on all outlets and these are the only places fans should look to buy tickets.

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