World Cup Scams Surge As Meta Fights Phony Ads On Facebook & Instagram

MoneyPersonal FinanceWorld Cup Scams Surge As Meta Fights Phony Ads On Facebook & InstagramBySteve Weisman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Steve Weisman writes about white-collar crime.Follow AuthorJun 05, 2026, 10:52am EDTWASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)FIFA via Getty ImagesThe FBI is warning people about scammers setting up phony FIFA websites to lure people into paying for tickets or merchandise that they will never receive or provide personal information that will lead to identity theft. Often the scammers will use URLs that at first glance such as www.fiffa.com may appear to be the legitimate www.fifa.com site. Among the many other counterfeit websites that the FBI identified are www.fifa-online.com and jobs-fifa.com. By using AI, the scammers can make their counterfeit websites appear legitimate.The cybersecurity company Group-IB identified more than 4,300 phony FIFA websites registered since August 2025. Tickets to the games are in high demand with more than 150 million ticket requests made to FIFA in just the first 15 days tickets were made available. Some of the phony FIFA websites contain fake login pages that ask you to reset your password. Doing so will enable the scammer to take over your FIFA account and resell any tickets tied to the account.One way you can confirm if a website is legitimate is to use Whois.com which is a free service that will tell you who owns a particular URL and how long it has been in service. If your FIFA website has only been around six months and is owned by someone in Nigeria, it certainly is a scam. Phony lotteries that appear to be operated by FIFA or its corporate sponsors, such as Visa or Coca Cola are also popular with scammers. Victims receive email...