World Cup-related scams: What to know about fake websites, ticket offers and payment requests - BERITAJA

The first lucifer of the 2026 FIFA World Cup successful the U.S. — erstwhile the United States takes connected Paraguay astatine SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood — is coming Friday. Soccer fans are psyched, and scammers purpose to profit from that, L.A. sheriff’s officials say.

Cyberscammers are zeroing successful connected the heightened emotions group are emotion surrounding the World Cup, said Sgt. Peter Hish of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau.

“They cognize we’re excited [because] what’s bigger successful Los Angeles than soccer?” Hish said.

“Scammers are not trading tickets,” noted Det. Anthony Moore of the bureau. “They’re trading urgency, that emotion and fearfulness of missing out.”

The Sheriff’s Department, astatine a news convention Wednesday, said that California is the No. 1 authorities successful the U.S. for online fraud, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime 2025 report. In 2025, much than 116,000 complaints of online scams successful California were revenge to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, according to the report.

The World Cup gives scammers caller ways of targeting consumers. Here’s much connected the scams and tips to thief you protect yourself.

What online scammers are looking to steal

The FBI issued a informing past month that cybercriminals are manipulating aliases reproducing the charismatic FIFA World Cup website to scam fans who are looking for tickets, hospitality packages, merchandise, streaming entree and betting opportunities.

These websites intimately lucifer morganatic ticketing and checkout platforms and could let scammers to bargain log-in credentials, individual accusation and in installments paper numbers and instrumentality you into sending successful payments.

Judging whether a website is existent has go overmuch much difficult, officials note.

(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

Copycat World Cup websites look very akin to the charismatic FIFA website.

Previous champion practices for identifying a clone website included looking astatine the matter for misspellings aliases logos that look existent but aren’t the correct size, style aliases color, but officials astatine Wednesday’s news convention said that’s nary longer enough.

Any bad character could digitally replicate a logo aliases an full website, Hish said.

“Not only that,” he said, “we cognize for these peculiar websites they’re pulling from existent World Cup aliases FIFA imagery to make their websites look real.”

Checkout sites from a fraudulent website will often inquire for costs successful the shape of cryptocurrency, peer-to-peer costs systems aliases rate apps.

FIFA ne'er accepts these forms of payment; it asks for costs by Visa in installments card.

A timer connected a clone checkout site could adhd unit arsenic the scammer tries to unreserved you and support you from checking the tract excessively closely.

The timer could see a connection that says, “You’ve sewage 5 minutes to complete this sale,” aliases “Enter your in installments paper now aliases the value will spell up,” Moore said.

Don’t autumn for it.

Ticket reseller and prize scams can onshore successful your email inbox aliases messaging apps for illustration Telegram.

Scams could onshore successful your inbox aliases a messaging app specified arsenic Telegram. Avoid responding aliases clicking connected immoderate links.

(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

These messages are almost ever accompanied by a nexus that will lead you straight to a fraudulent website aliases checkout page. Don’t click connected immoderate nexus aliases respond to immoderate message.

Avoid utilizing a resell aliases replacement ticketing tract that you’re unfamiliar pinch arsenic it could beryllium a scam.

FIFA has its ain marketplace wrong its charismatic website wherever fans could acquisition resale tickets.

“If you’re getting tickets anyplace else,” Moore said, “buyer beware. That summons you salary for whitethorn beryllium the about costly summons you ever salary for that won’t get you successful the gate.”

Fraudulent FIFA occupation offers and interviews have sprung up connected the net successful the months starring up to the World Cup because galore group person looked for jobs astatine these events, officials said.

This elaborate scam includes mounting up a clip for an question and reply and past being asked for individual accusation specified arsenic a transcript of your W-2 aliases your Social Security number.

Typing the correct URL straight into your browser is the champion measurement to get to a morganatic site.

(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)

The charismatic guidance from the Sheriff’s Department is to spell straight to the charismatic FIFA website, fifa.com.

Before you sojourn a website aliases make immoderate purchase, present are the 5 steps Hish and Moore said you should beryllium taking:

1. Type the charismatic website reside into the web browser. Avoid typing it into Google search, which could supply you pinch options that are fraudulent. Avoid clicking connected links from ads, comments, nonstop messages and forwarded texts.
2. Check the website domain. Make judge it is exact. Look retired for hyphens, added words and overseas endings.
3. Do not unreserved because you’re acrophobic you’ll miss out. Countdowns, warnings of constricted seats and different urgent connection are communal unit strategies among scammers.
4. Never reuse passwords. If you entered credentials connected a suspected scam page, alteration them; do truthful by first clearing your cache and opening a caller web browser.
5. Contact your slope quickly if you fishy you’ve entered individual banking accusation into a fraudulent website. Take the steps to frost aliases switch the paper and conflict suspicious charges.

If you’re a unfortunate of a scam aliases stumble upon a suspicious website, aliases offer, return a screenshot of the web page, return down the URL and costs details, if applicable, and notify your section rule enforcement agency arsenic good arsenic the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.