LONDON: Saudi fans travelling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been urged to stay vigilant against impersonation scams, as cybersecurity firms warned of a surge in fraud targeting supporters ahead of the tournament.
Group-IB said on Thursday it uncovered a “massive, sophisticated” fraud campaign targeting fans, while Proofpoint warned Saudi supporters heading to the event to be on guard against impersonation attempts.
Researchers said they identified more than 4,300 fraudulent domains impersonating FIFA’s official web presence, six parallel fraud schemes and four independent threat actors, and estimated potential losses could run into the billions of dollars.
The tournament will be staged across 16 cities in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
FIFA expects more than 6 million fans to attend matches, with ticket demand already far outstripping supply.
