EXPERTS have warned of World Cup scams as criminals cash in on desperate football fans – costing them up to £150 on average, new research has found.
New NordVPN data shows one in six UK internet users encountered a football-related online scam in 2024 and 2025.
Fake match tickets are the biggest danger for fans, with 56% of those who encountered football scams coming across bogus ticket sales.
An estimated 3.4 million UK internet users have lost money to football-related scams, with victims most commonly losing between £51 and £150, new NordVPN research has found.
Social media is the main route in, with 70% of those who encountered football scams seeing them on social platforms.
One in three UK internet users has watched football through illegal streaming channels, potentially exposing fans to risky sites, pop-ups and scam offers.
Scammers are catching people when their guard is down, with victims who lost money to football, entertainment or travel scams most likely to say they were frustrated or stressed when they received the scam offer.
Football scams work because they are built around emotion and urgency
Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, said: “Football scams work because they are built around emotion and urgency. When people are excited about a match, searching for tickets, chasing betting odds or trying to watch the action online, they are far more likely to act first and verify later. That is exactly what scammers count on.
“These scams are often designed to catch people in the moment, when they are distracted, frustrated or worried about missing out. A convincing post, message or offer can feel legitimate at first glance, especially on familiar platforms like social media, but that sense of pressure is often part of the scam itself.
“If an offer plays on your emotions and love for the beautiful game, treat that as a red flag, not an opportunity. Slow down, verify the source, and stick to official platforms for tickets, streaming and betting wherever possible.
“The safest approach is to be sceptical of anything that looks unusually cheap, time-sensitive or exclusive. Scammers want fans to make snap decisions.”
Samuel Mather-Holgate, Managing Director & IFA at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, urged fans to buy through official sites.
He added: “Football fraud works because it attacks fans at exactly the wrong moment – when demand is high, emotions are running hot and common sense is being drowned out by FOMO. The World Cup is a scammer’s dream fixture. Tickets are scarce, travel is expensive, streaming demand is huge and fans are primed to click quickly.
“Fake tickets, dodgy streams and social media ‘deals’ all exploit the same weakness: urgency. The golden rule is boring but vital. Buy only through official clubs, tournament sites or trusted resale platforms, never through random social posts or direct bank transfers.
“Be wary of sellers pushing pressure, secrecy or unusually cheap prices. Anyone who has paid should contact their bank immediately, report it to Action Fraud, preserve screenshots, and change passwords if they clicked through to a suspect site.”
Football fraud works because it attacks fans at exactly the wrong moment
Colette Mason, AI Ethics Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said social media sites are not doing enough to stop these scams.
She added: “Fans already know in their gut that when demand outstrips supply, the gap gets filled by people who want your money more than they want your team to win. Fake ticket sites, dodgy streams, algorithmically timed betting ‘tips’? None of this is sophisticated.
“It works because frustration and stress are predictable states for anyone trying to watch football legally in 2026 and their guard is lowered. 70% of football scams land through social media because these platforms are built to surface content people care deeply about. They remain structurally indifferent to whether what spreads is real. They profit with increased engagement and increased ad clicks.
“Rather depressingly, the platform enforcement is reactive at best, and theatrical at worst. For World Cup season, the threat surface expands: more fans, more urgency, more tired but keen people who don’t usually navigate grey-market sites suddenly on a fool’s errand looking for a stream at 11pm.”
Photo by Jonathan Greenaway on Unsplash.
