As excitement builds for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, experts have raised concerns over the potential for increased fraud targeting fans.
Taking place across Canada, Mexico and the US, the 2026 World Cup is already shaping up to be the largest and most attended in its history. With over 5 million football fans anticipated to travel to the host countries, this attention makes it a perfect opportunity for fraudsters, according to Frank Moreno, CMO at Entersekt.
He warns that major global events like the World Cup are “prime targets” for fraudsters and cybercriminals. Moreno recalls the last men’s tournament in Qatar, where the volume of malicious emails doubled and fraudulent activity surged.
One of the most common fraud types at the last tournament was “carding”, where stolen credit card details are sold on dark web marketplaces.
Moreno states: “These stolen card credentials, which may also be collected from fake, FIFA-themed websites, were used to make unauthorised transactions and book flight tickets and accommodation.
“The syndicates were so sophisticated they even provided services to cash out money from the stolen cards, using prepaid gift cards to cover their tracks.”
Sports fans, particularly football fans, will be aware of the rise in ticketing-related scams from supporting their domestic clubs in recent years. To help prevent supporters from falling victim, UK banks often publish warnings to their customers about the risks and what to look out for.
Last year, Lloyds Bank urged fans to only buy tickets through official channels, finding that the number of people being scammed when buying football tickets rose by around a third (32%) during the 2023/24 season, compared to the previous season.
Additionally, the bank revealed that victims lost £177 on average, though for some fans it was over £1,000. With tickets for the World Cup expected to be in high-demand, financial institutions are concerned fraudsters will take advantage of those prepared to offer over the odds for tickets.
As noted by Lloyds, using official channels is best practice. Liz Ziegler, Fraud Prevention Director at Lloyds Bank, warned last year that social media is where most scams originate.
“Passions run high when supporting your favourite football team, and missing out on the big match after falling victim to a ticket scam can be devastating,” she said.
“There are some simple tactics every fan needs to know. Always stick to official channels as your first line of defence, and avoid deals which look too good to be true.
“Most scams kick off on social media, where impostors create fake profiles to sell non-existent tickets. We’re calling on these firms to step up and tackle the fraudsters head-on.”
In addition to ticketing scams, Moreno points out that travelling fans may have issues when making transactions in the US. This is due to US merchants not following the same safety protocols as other global institutions, which may result in supporters’ banks blocking certain purchases.
He adds: “The lack of consistent payment experience could lead to foreign visitors mistrusting the process and even distrusting the merchants. Additional queries on false declines could also flood bank call centres with frustrated cardholder queries, all of which will put a real dent in what should be a business bonanza.”
Nevertheless, he says that the 2026 World Cup is an opportunity for financial institutions to work together and demonstrate the ability to safeguard payments.
Moreno concludes: “Now is the time to ensure that ‘The Beautiful Game’ isn’t marred by an explosion of fraud, lost revenue and frustrated visitors that could have been prevented.”
