![\"An](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2026\/06\/18212808\/world-cup-scam-2026-01.jpg\")
<\/a>An example of a fake video streaming website requiring users to register and pay with cryptocurrency to watch all World Cup 2026 matches<\/p><\/div>\n
Fans who are desperate to catch their favorite teams live risk losing not just their money, but also their personal data, which hackers can later weaponize in targeted phishing attacks.<\/p>\n
A losing bet<\/h2>\n
Match result predictions and sports betting always skyrocket in popularity during the World Cup, and scammers waste no time cashing in on the trend. And behind the flashy slogans lie classic scam tactics.<\/p>\n
Take this beautifully designed Spanish-language website. To sign up, it demands a massive amount of personal information, including your full name, national ID number, email address, and phone number\u00a0\u2014 and, of course, it asks you to create a password. If a victim uses the exact same password for multiple accounts, they\u2019re essentially handing the keys to their digital life over to cybercriminals.<\/p>\n
<\/a>To guess match outcomes on this site, you have to hand over way too much personal info\u00a0\u2014 everything short of biometrics<\/p><\/div>\n
Another site, specifically targeting users in Colombia, turned the sign-up process into a paid ordeal\u00a0\u2014 and it features every trick in the book.<\/p>\n
- \n
- To \u201cverify\u201d your profile, you\u2019re forced to use WhatsApp under the guise of avoiding legal complications.<\/li>\n
- Before your account is activated, you must make a deposit. This means sending 100\u00a0000 Colombian pesos (about $29) to a specified account and texting the receipt to an \u201cadministrator\u201d on WhatsApp.<\/li>\n
- Next, you\u2019re told to wait 12 hours for the \u201cadministrator\u201d to manually activate your profile.<\/li>\n
- Only after all of this do the scammers tell you can place unlimited bets (of course not true).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"These](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2026\/06\/18212815\/world-cup-scam-2026-05.jpg\")
<\/a>These scammers built a whole website, but they do all their business over WhatsApp. That\u2019s a red flag!<\/p><\/div>\n
In many countries\u00a0\u2014 including Colombia\u00a0\u2014 sports betting is strictly regulated. Only a handful of licensed operators are legally allowed to run these sites, and users are required by law to verify their identity. Because of this, these shady workarounds can look tempting to people who love to gamble but don\u2019t want to\u00a0\u2014 or can\u2019t\u00a0\u2014 go through the official verification process.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the scammers always win in this scenario. They walk away with your initial deposit and every single bet you place on their site. At the end of the day, their only real goal is to drain their victims\u2019 wallets for as much as they possibly can.<\/p>\n
Discounts for collectors!<\/h2>\n
The World Cup isn\u2019t just about the matches; it also drives record-breaking sales of collectible merchandise\u00a0\u2014 stickers, scarves, team jerseys, official match balls, and more. Naturally, plenty of scammers are eager to get a piece of that action.<\/p>\n
Take a look at this website offering \u201cexclusive, limited-edition\u201d stickers and albums. Notice anything suspicious?<\/p>\n
![\"Talk](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2026\/06\/18212820\/world-cup-scam-2026-06.jpg\")
<\/a>Talk about a steal! Too bad the whole website is a scam<\/p><\/div>\n
Check out those prices: everything is heavily discounted, even though the tournament is in full swing. All it takes is a quick price check against the real deal to spot the trap. In the screenshot above, the scammers are charging 67 euros for a sticker collection. On actual online marketplaces, that exact same set goes for at least twice as much<\/a>, and on the official Panini website, it\u2019s three times<\/a> the price.<\/p>\n
Fake websites mimicking popular sporting goods stores also offer to sell you shin guards, socks, jerseys, and any other gear. Of course, you\u2019ll never see the merchandise, and you\u2019ll lose both your money and your bank card details.<\/p>\n
![\"When](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2026\/06\/18212825\/world-cup-scam-2026-07.jpg\")
<\/a>When they\u2019ve absolutely no intention of delivering any products, they can easily offer massive discounts and free shipping<\/p><\/div>\n
Deals that seem too good to be true are one of the biggest red flags. To make matters worse, with the help of AI, fake websites now look just as professional as the real ones, making them harder than ever to spot<\/a>. That\u2019s why we recommend installing our security suite<\/a> before you start shopping online. It blocks phishing sites in real time and uses the Safe Money<\/a> feature to keep your financial data secure.<\/p>\n
Soccer by mail<\/h2>\n
Another attack strategy involves spam campaigns centered around the World Cup. In one email, our experts uncovered an ad for a soccer analytics and betting-tips service. It uses the classic high-pressure playbook: \u201cONLY 10 SPOTS AVAILABLE\u201d\u00a0\u2014 so hurry up before they run out! Naturally, access comes with a price tag: AU$200.<\/p>\n
![\"Spammers](\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2026\/06\/18212829\/world-cup-scam-2026-08.jpg\")
<\/a>Spammers hurrying the victim to make a decision as quickly as possible<\/p><\/div>\n
This scheme targets fans who are into sports betting, and paying for these types of services usually ends one of two ways for them: they either lose their money with zero guarantee of getting actual predictions, or get sucked into an even deeper, multi-step financial trap.<\/p>\n
How to avoid falling for the scams<\/h2>\n
Across all these scenarios, the World Cup is just another convenient pretext for cybercriminals. Once the tournament wraps up, they\u2019ll most certainly pivot back to their usual tricks \u2014 like fake job offers<\/a> or Telegram phishing scams<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 until the next Olympics<\/a> or soccer tournament<\/a> rolls around and they switch right back to sport.<\/p>\n
Our research consistently shows that online fraud has evolved into a massive illegal enterprise. You aren\u2019t just up against lone scammers anymore; you\u2019re dealing with large criminal networks. When it comes to defense, the best approach is a proactive one. By installing Kaspersky Premium<\/a>, you can safeguard all your devices from malware, phishing, spam, and malicious or lookalike websites. Plus, the included Kaspersky Password Manager<\/a>\u00a0will generate unique complex passwords, securely store your sensitive data\u00a0\u2014 like documents and bank cards\u00a0\u2014 and stop you from auto-filling your credentials on fake sites.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Watch the games only on legitimate streaming platforms.<\/strong> Don\u2019t trust fake reviews and never enter your bank card information on unverified sites. Keep an eye out not just for sketchy streaming websites, but also for fake IPTV apps. As we\u2019ve covered in detail before<\/a>, scammers frequently use these to infect your devices with Trojans.<\/li>\n
- Shop smart.<\/strong> The best way to avoid getting ripped off is to buy merchandise exclusively through official channels\u00a0(where you won\u2019t see suspiciously deep discounts), or simply buy your gear in person at official retail locations.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t click <\/strong><\/a>suspicious links. If a deal that\u2019s too good to be true lands in your inbox\u00a0\u2014 whether it\u2019s exclusive betting tips or anything else\u00a0\u2014 just ignore it and hit delete.<\/li>\n
- Avoid logging in through Telegram bots<\/a><\/strong>. At the very least, this saves you from future headaches and annoying spam. At best, it keeps your account from being hijacked and your crypto from being stolen.<\/li>\n
- Switch to passkeys<\/a> wherever possible. <\/strong>Unlike traditional passwords, which are easily stolen and can be typed into any fake login page, a passkey is cryptographically tied to a specific website and won\u2019t work on a phishing page. Kaspersky Password Manager<\/a>\u00a0can easily store and sync your passkeys across all your devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
What other ruses do scammers use to make a quick buck? Check out our other posts:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The Winter Games in Italy: how to avoid the scams<\/a><\/li>\n
- Summer scams in Paris<\/a><\/li>\n
- Meme coins and NFTs: how not to lose your shirt<\/a><\/li>\n
- How to watch soccer safely<\/a><\/li>\n
- Neither flowers nor gifts: how women get scammed<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here\u2019s a breakdown of the latest scams to watch out for, ensuring your World Cup experience ends with great memories \u2014 not stolen money or compromised data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2710,"featured_media":30836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2196],"tags":[2172,3001,3342,80,1102,76,701,1631,587,527],"class_list":{"0":"post-30828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-threats","8":"tag-cryptocurrencies","9":"tag-deception","10":"tag-fakes","11":"tag-fraud","12":"tag-kaspersky-password-manager","13":"tag-phishing","14":"tag-scam","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-telegram","17":"tag-threats"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"en-in","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/30828\/"},{"hreflang":"en-ae","url":"https:\/\/me-en.kaspersky.com\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/25868\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/30670\/"},{"hreflang":"ru","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.ru\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/42076\/"},{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/55986\/"},{"hreflang":"ru-kz","url":"https:\/\/blog.kaspersky.kz\/world-cup-scam-2026\/30774\/"},{"hreflang":"en-au","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com.au\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/36338\/"},{"hreflang":"en-za","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.za\/blog\/world-cup-scam-2026\/36228\/"}],"acf":[],"banners":"","maintag":{"url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/tag\/scam\/","name":"scam"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30835,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30828\/revisions\/30835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Summer scams in Paris<\/a><\/li>\n
- Shop smart.<\/strong> The best way to avoid getting ripped off is to buy merchandise exclusively through official channels\u00a0(where you won\u2019t see suspiciously deep discounts), or simply buy your gear in person at official retail locations.<\/li>\n
- Watch the games only on legitimate streaming platforms.<\/strong> Don\u2019t trust fake reviews and never enter your bank card information on unverified sites. Keep an eye out not just for sketchy streaming websites, but also for fake IPTV apps. As we\u2019ve covered in detail before<\/a>, scammers frequently use these to infect your devices with Trojans.<\/li>\n