The possibility of attending one of the World Cup matches to be played in Mexico has significantly increased virtual scams. The dream is ticket sales and it is expected that as the opening date approaches, the risk will extend to other areas such as accommodation, travel packages, live streaming of matches and the offering of limited edition products, IT security experts have warned.
In general, the feeling of urgency, heightened by the long virtual queues that users are already accustomed to, is one of the main factors that lead them to fall into these types of traps. “These massive and long-awaited events are a great opportunity for attackers. They give us what we expected, we have free time, tickets are flying, everything is very fast, which makes the user fall because of the inertia of wanting to reach a place to go to the World Cup,” explained Isabel Manjarrez, security researcher at Kaspersky to EL PAÍS.
The use of artificial intelligence has also allowed these scams to occur en masse and has made it increasingly difficult to identify fraudulent websites or emails. Criminal cells often purchase pre-made tools or clone sites to make them appear legitimate, with logos and visual identity virtually identical to the original. A minimal variation in the domain is enough to mislead the user: for example, instead of fifa.com appear as fifa.mx. Additionally, these groups may pay to appear in good positions in search engines like Google, so these fake pages are often even more visible than official pages.
Besides the financial risk, one of the biggest dangers of this type of scam is the violation of personal data, which has now become its own currency. “This type of data that we release little by little is very useful for attackers because they can reuse it for other attacks or sell it on the Internet.”arch canvas and the one who buys them could be another attacker or someone who could blackmail you, for example on the Internet, someone who could take out a loan in your name with the information you have already provided,” Manjarrez said.
To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, experts recommend carefully checking the addresses of messages and websites, as well as being careful with posts on social networks, especially when it comes to content promoted by unknown senders. Even if the message is from someone you know, it’s worth confirming it by another means, such as a call. Meanwhile, if an offer seems too good to be true, it is usually a fraudulent promise.
Lack of digital preparedness harms Mexican consumers
A study by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky indicates that 33% of users in Mexico have experienced some type of bank account or credit card fraud while shopping online. The analysis also reveals that 24% of Mexicans do not know how to identify fraudulent emails or messages, while 35% have difficulty recognizing fake websites, a lack of digital preparedness that increases vulnerability to this type of crime.
Added to this is the lack of regulation from companies and authorities, which limits prevention efforts. According to specialists, the current context differs from that of previous editions of the World Cup, because technology advances at a much faster pace than legal frameworks, which are not able to cover the complexity of the digital ecosystem, applications and services that are today concentrated in mobile devices. “All these companies and institutions have the task of catching up and taking all the necessary precautions to protect themselves (because there is also a reputational impact) but also for their buyers. They must be aware of the possible threats and the type of scams, it’s a difficult race, but they must take this flag forward,” said Manjarrez.
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