With major sporting events like the Stanley Cup Final, the NBA Finals, and the upcoming World Cup drawing global attention, cybersecurity experts warn that scammers are using the excitement to target fans looking for tickets.
“They know what they’re doing,” said Assaf Morag, a security researcher with the cybersecurity company Flare. “And they will sell you everything.”
Morag says major sporting events are prime opportunities for online scammers, especially on social media.
To demonstrate how widespread the problem is, he went on Facebook and interacted with dozens of accounts claiming to sell World Cup tickets.
“This is where you need to be careful,” he said.
Morag even asked for tickets to a match that doesn’t exist — Italy vs. Russia — noting that Italy did not qualify for the 2026 World Cup and Russia is suspended. Scammers still tried to sell him seats.
At one point, he invented a fictional country, “Velmoraon,” and was told tickets were available.
“I even invented the country in Southeast Europe,” Morag said. “And they said, okay, yeah, we have the tickets.”
He says there are legitimate secondary markets and private sellers online, but buying through social media always carries risk.
“You cannot be sure until the last minute that you bought something which is legit,” he said.
Experts recommend checking online reviews before using any third‑party ticket site and avoiding payment methods like debit cards, Venmo or money‑transfer apps.
Credit cards offer the strongest protection if you need to dispute a fraudulent charge.
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