Making Cents: Be on the ball for World Cup scams and phishing

Consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness

The Republic of Ireland won’t be playing in the World Cup in Russia but hundreds of thousands of Irish football fans will still take a keen interest in the tournament. They, like billions worldwide, are looking forward to getting caught up in the sport and drama of the global event.

Unfortunately, any event that draws a lot of interest will invariably also come to the attention of scammers and IT security and cybercrime analyst Urban Schrott warns that “fans should be on the lookout for foul play”.

“The attackers will seek to exploit the fever that will increasingly grip footie fans,” Mr Schrott said.

Anything related to the tournament and players will be hot news, which ultimately increases the likelihood that a victim will click a malicious link or open a malicious attachment. The fraudsters will attempt to gain access to your personal data, typically credit card details or login credentials, using various methods.

This tendency of fraudsters to flock to whatever has gripped public attention also holds true for smaller-scale events, like the recent Ed Sheeran tour of Ireland.

Any time large numbers of people are keen to either go to or find out more about an event, you can be sure that someone, somewhere is thinking of ways to exploit it.

So don’t let you or family member’s enthusiasm override common sense and caution, no matter how desperate you are to attend, particularly when it comes to online activity.

It is extremely easy to create websites that appear genuine, with all the logos and branding one would expect. Social media posts redirect to these sites, convincing the online user they have stumbled across a real bargain.

Email scams are another way fraudsters may try and access your information, again using a high-profile event like a match or concert in the hope it will encourage you to lower your defences.

“You may receive an email or social media message that contains a malicious attachment or link, supposedly to games, apps, footage of highlights, videos with hot news about players, or other tempting content,” Mr Schrott said.

With a banking Trojan implanted on your machine after you open the attachment or click the link, the attackers may extract your financial information.

When checking emails, never open attachments or links from people you don’t know. If you don’t know who sent the email, just delete it or scan it with security software before opening them.

Beware of emails that don’t address you by name and do not post your email address or contact details on online forums.

Remember, legitimate companies and websites will not ask you to confirm personal details or passwords via email. Do not reply to emails requesting this sort of information, and don’t be sucked in by congratulations on your ‘win’ or any suggestion that sharing your information will allow you to access a ‘prize’ of some sort.

If in doubt, always revert back to the golden rule. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Frauds and scams are also not limited to traditional social media, such as Facebook, Mr Schrott reports that a false contest to win a Brazil jersey, has already been circulating on WhatsApp. So maintain the same standards of caution any time you are online, no matter what the site.

Be extremely suspicious of entering competitions where you have to provide personal information and be aware of the possibility of fake social accounts pretending to be a legitimate company. Always check that the page name or handle is the genuine account.

Remember that events like concerts and sporting tournaments are equally as attractive to young children and teenagers, who cannot be expected to be as alert to danger.

Supervise your children when they are online and get them into the habit of questioning things online. Ask them to tell you about any suspicious activity they run into online.

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