VANCOUVER, April 30 – Record-breaking ticket costs and travel expenses for this year’s World Cup are creating dangerous opportunities for cybercriminals to target soccer enthusiasts, according to a fraud prevention specialist.
The unprecedented high prices make fans vulnerable to fake ticket schemes as they search desperately for affordable options, warned Nuno Sebastiao, CEO and co-founder of Feedzai, a company that partners with global banks to combat financial crimes.
“Large gatherings like a World Cup are a scammer’s dream,” Sebastiao explained to Reuters. His firm specializes in identifying and stopping fraudulent activities for financial institutions worldwide.
“The cost of these events, it’s fairly high. And people are always trying to get a good deal somehow. And that’s what these criminals prey on,” he continued.
“A football fan is not a high-income person like you’d see in other sports. 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.”
While fraudulent activities surround all major international sporting competitions, Sebastiao emphasized that this World Cup presents heightened risks due to its record-setting expense levels.
FIFA has not yet provided a response regarding protective measures for tournament attendees or safety recommendations for fans.
Research published this month by The Knoble, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting financial crimes, predicts the World Cup will generate over 28,500 questionable financial transactions worldwide.
Sebastiao identified ticketing fraud, travel scams, and online schemes as the primary threat categories. He noted that many operations are orchestrated by sophisticated criminal organizations, some with government backing.
“We’re talking about global network sponsored by … Iran, North Korea, where our system of justice cannot reach,” he stated.
“But we also see operations in Latin America, some African countries, some Eastern European countries that have familiarity with some of the languages spoken at these events.”
According to Sebastiao, cyber fraud surrounding major sporting events also contributes to serious human rights violations.
“There’s slave labour involved in these gigantic call centres,” he revealed.
“They take their passports and force them to work slave hours to commit phishing and scamming attacks.”
Criminal networks also exploit vulnerable individuals at event locations, particularly in commercial sex trafficking.
“When we see people being arrested some of them are themselves victims,” Sebastiao explained.
“They’re victims of human trafficking. They’re forced to do that because they’re illegal immigrants.
“Whenever there’s these large gatherings there are people that are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.”
During the Super Bowl held in northern California earlier this year, Santa Clara County’s Human Trafficking Task Force arrested 29 traffickers and rescued 73 victims of sex trafficking, including 10 children.
Law enforcement plans to implement similar anti-trafficking operations when the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium hosts six World Cup matches in June and July.
