North America will host the biggest sporting event in the world: the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It will take place in less than fifteen months.. All matches will be played across three countries – USA, Mexico, and Canada. Billions of people worldwide will watch the games from home, while millions will fly across the pond to see them in person. The USA is expected to welcome over five million soccer-savvy tourists, who are already seeking ways to obtain match tickets. Unfortunately, the rising demand has also led to an increase in World Cup ticket scams, with cybercriminals targeting eager fans. The championship is expected to be the most visited World Cup ever.

How Scammers Are Exploiting the World Cup Buzz

Fraudsters know how important the event is, and they are already trying to exploit the hype surrounding it by offering non-existent event passes. Our investigation shows that even though FIFA is not selling tickets yet, passes claiming to be for the opening match in the USA on June 12th, 2026 are already on sale by resellers on SeatGeek, Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid Seats, and other ticket marketplaces in the USA with the cheapest being over $1,500. The prices are seeing to go completely berserk with price tags of tens of thousands of dollars. The prices of those non-existent tickets are astronomical. This is not even the first match of the soccer championship, but only the first game within the country of the USA. 

It’s important to note that the “tickets” offered by resellers aren’t real, as the official tickets don’t exist yet. Scammers bypass ticket platform rules by avoiding the use of “FIFA” in listings. Instead, they write things like “World Cup 26: Group Stage” and add the event date or venue name.

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How to Avoid World Cup Ticket Scams Online

FIFA has been aware of all the speculation. A few months ago, they announced that ticket sales for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin towards the end of this year, exclusively on FIFA.com/tickets. However, likely due to the enormous interest in the event and the upcoming current FIFA Club World Cup championship this year, they have started introducing earlier ways to guarantee a chance to buy a ticket for the World Cup next year. While this allows fans to confirm a ticket, it also opens the gates for fraud and abuse. Bad actors are already taking advantage of the situation. 

Soccer fans should be aware of fake profiles on social media claiming to offer tickets. These people should not be trusted. If you want to protect yourself from malicious emails and banking fraud, you are welcome to install top antivirus software. It will help you avoid unsafe websites and prevent you from clicking on suspicious links.

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