World Cup-related scams: What to know about fake websites, ticket offers and payment requests
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The first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S.— when the United States takes on Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — is coming Friday.
Soccer fans are psyched, and scammers aim to profit from that, L.A.sheriff’s officials say.Cyberscammers are zeroing in on the heightened emotions people are feeling surrounding the World Cup, said Sgt.
Peter Hish of the L.A.County Sheriff’s Department Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau.“They know we’re excited [because] what’s bigger in Los Angeles than soccer?” Hish said.“Scammers are not selling tickets,” noted Det.
Anthony Moore of the bureau.“They’re selling urgency, that emotion and fear of missing out.”The Sheriff’s Department, at a news conference Wednesday, said that California is the No.
1 state in the U.S.for online fraud, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime 2025 report.
In 2025, more than 116,000 complaints of online scams in California were filed to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, according to the report.The World Cup gives scammers new ways of targeting consumers.
Here’s more on the scams and tips to help you protect yourself.The FBI issued a warning last month that cybercriminals are manipulating or reproducing the official FIFA World Cup website to scam fans who are looking for tickets, hospitality packages, merchandise, streaming access and betting opportunities.These websites closely resemble legitimate ticketing and checkout platforms and can allow scammers to steal log-in credentials, personal information and credit card numbers and trick you into sending in payments.
Copycat World Cup websites look very similar to the official FIFA website.Previous best practices for identifying a fake website included looking at the text for misspellings or logos that look real but aren’t the right size, shape or color, but officials at Wednesday’s news conference said that’s no...