By Candid Wueest
2010 has arrived and will be a momentous year for South Africa as host of the FIFA World Cup. Being Swiss, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for Switzerland equalling the success of our under-17 team, which walked away with the laurels in the junior event last year.
Like football fans across the globe, many of my friends are making plans for a mid-year safari, with the proviso of course that they’ll be able to bag tickets for some of the hottest games. Unfortunately, not all people are viewing the World Cup with such positive intentions.
Cyberscammers, for example, are already misusing the excitement around the event to their own advantage and we can be sure they will redouble their fraudulent activities as the kick-off date draws closer.
Some fraudsters tout online lottery draws promising free tickets, while others post bulk e-mails claiming the “lucky” recipient has won tickets to the most sought after matches. These scams usually fall into the category of advance fee fraud. Here, in order to receive the tickets, the user has to pay a clearance tax, a postage fee or some other bogus charge. No matter what you pay, you can be assured that you will never see the tickets.
Sadly, caution flies out of the window when people are lured by the bait of seeing their favoured team play in the finals. Blinded by fanatical fervour and against their better judgement, they provide private information or even pay fees in advance.
Be vigilant! If you receive an e-mail offering tickets for free or at unlikely discounts, from an organisation you’ve never heard of, and demanding confidential information or any advance fee - delete it. Rather watch the match in your local pub. A mild hangover is far preferable to the trauma of a cleaned out band account!
Personally, I’ll be watching Switzerland’s preparations with avid attention, but, in my professional capacity as a Senior Threat Researcher at Symantec, I’ll be monitoring the activities of the cyberscammers and keeping readers informed of the new scams or variations of old ones that are bound to appear before the first whistle.