With World Cup tickets and travel costing more, a fraud watchdog says fans face higher risk of cyber scams—especially fake tickets and phishing schemes targeting bargain hunters.
VANCOUVER, April 30 — As World Cup excitement builds, a fraud-prevention watchdog is warning that higher ticket and travel costs could create the perfect environment for scams.
Nuno Sebastiao, CEO and co-founder of Feedzai, said soaring prices will push some supporters toward risky offers—particularly fake tickets and online schemes disguised as last-minute deals.. His message is blunt: large sporting events don’t just draw legitimate fans, they also attract criminals who know people will pay quickly and hope they’ve found a bargain.
“Large gatherings like a World Cup are a scammer’s dream,” Sebastiao said, explaining that attackers tend to target the gap between urgency and careful checks.. When tickets are expensive and transport costs add another layer of pressure, the temptation to buy fast—often through unfamiliar platforms—goes up.
Sebastiao also pointed out a key vulnerability: football fans, unlike supporters of some higher-income sports, may be less able to absorb the financial hit from fraud.. “So there’s more propensity to be the victim of a scam because you really want to go, you really want to see the game, but you just don’t have the money,” he said.. In practice, that means scammers can pitch offers that feel affordable compared with official prices, then vanish once payment is taken.
There are already signs that major tournaments can trigger unusual financial activity.. A report released earlier this month by Misryoum, a nonprofit network focused on tackling financial crime, forecast that the World Cup would fuel more than 28,500 suspicious financial transactions globally.. The expected hotspots include ticketing, travel, and online scams—areas where fans are already searching for options and, at times, are forced to move quickly.
The warnings don’t stop at everyday fraud.. Sebastiao cautioned that some scam operations are run by large criminal networks, and in some cases may be tied to state-linked actors.. He said the geography of operations can be wide, including regions where international enforcement struggles to reach.. Even when the victims are spread across multiple countries, the pattern can be familiar: phishing messages, deceptive payment instructions, and counterfeit “official” ticket sales.
Cyber fraud can also leave physical and human harm behind.. Sebastiao said financial scams around global sporting events can be linked to human rights abuses, including exploitation occurring in high-volume environments that criminals use to sustain their operations.. “There’s slave labour involved in these gigantic call centres,” he said, describing systems that move people into forced work in support of scamming campaigns.
On the ground, Misryoum notes similar exploitation has been reported around major events elsewhere.. Sebastiao pointed to a pattern where arrests can include people who are themselves victims, including those forced into trafficking networks.. He said victims may be coerced because they are undocumented or vulnerable, and that large gatherings can intensify demand that criminal groups exploit.
Misryoum understands that enforcement planning is likely to matter as much as cyber defenses.. Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Task Force reported that during the Super Bowl in northern California earlier this year, traffickers were arrested and sex trafficking victims were recovered, including minors.. A similar operation, Sebastiao said, is expected in the San Francisco Bay Area for World Cup matches taking place in June and July at a local stadium.
Why higher prices can make scams worse
What fans can do before paying
A risk that grows with every click
For many supporters, the World Cup is more than a sporting trip—it’s a once-in-a-cycle goal.. That makes scam prevention more than a technical concern; it’s about protecting hard-earned money and, just as importantly, reducing the ripple effects that criminals can spread when big events pull the world into one place.