In less than two weeks, the biggest sporting event in the world will begin – the FIFA World Cup 2022. According to official data, the last time it took place (in Russia during 2018), the tournament was followed by nearly 3.6 billion people, and the final game alone was watched by more than a billion. Although the upcoming World Cup is controversially discussed due to human rights violations in Qatar, it will certainly be followed by a massive audience.
Any significant event is usually (ab)used by cybercriminals who try to take advantage of users looking for information, entries or news. We must be prepared, and for this we will explore the different types of scams and threats we will eventually have to face, from ticket scams to SEO poisoning, lottery scams, phishingand distribution of malware.
Ticket scams
We’ve seen this threat at all kinds of events, festivals and concerts, and the World Cup will be no exception. People are susceptible to FOMO (fear of missing out) and scammers will use this against them to offer victims sold-out tickets. This one is easy to avoid: tickets are not sold or sold outside of FIFA, if you want to purchase tickets go to official site. Otherwise, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Lottery Scams
Lots of people would love to go and watch their national team, so it’s the perfect time for cybercriminals to run a lottery offering a chance to win flights, hotels and match tickets. If you encounter any of this, my advice is to think the worst and you won’t go far wrong. However, it is true that there could be legitimate lotteries out there, and usually some internet research will help us find out if this is the case.
SEO poisoning
The best search engines during the weeks of the tournament will be about matches, results and news around the World Cup. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the technique used to make websites more relevant to search engines and appear on the first page of results to gain clicks and visitors. Cybercriminals have used SEO poisoning for years in an attempt to rank their malicious website among the top results to entice victims to visit their pages for a variety of nefarious purposes, from stealing credentials to installing malware. Don’t blindly trust the search results and take a look at the URLs before continuing to click on them.
Social Networks
All social networks will be flooded with football content, from TikTok to Facebook. More and more people are using social media as their primary source of news, and we can expect some abuse by the bad guys to spread. misinformation to malicious offers such as those described above.
Phishing and malware
Expect to receive messages via ads or email with World Cup news, prompting you to click on links or download and run files, all with the goal of stealing your credentials or infecting your devices.
Finally, here are some tips to help you stay safe online during your next event and beyond:
Follow official sites and app markets when downloading software and updates, avoid downloading third-party apps. This puts your device at risk of being infected by malware or malware that can allow hackers to gain control of your device and access your data. Avoid clicking on suspicious links, such as links sent from unknown senders, about purchases, for example, that you didn’t make, or related to accounts you don’t have, or links that don’t match the service referenced in the messages . This allows cybercriminals to access your information and install spyware, ransomware, or any type of malware on your devices. active two factor authentication whenever possible. This adds an extra layer of protection to your device. If a hacker gains access to your account by securing confidential passwords, the intruder will no longer be able to access your information as a password is not sufficient, the account owner must approve the second factor.
Use a unique and secure password when you create an account online, or even better, use a password manager to do it for you. Passwords act as the first line of defense against hackers accessing your devices and personal data. Use a reliable antivirus or security software. This enables continuous protection against online threats or attacks by detecting and taking action against malware on devices. Antivirus software is an essential step in maintaining full protection of your information and having a good security strategy.
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