The FBI is warning football fans about fake websites pretending to be FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
These scam sites are designed to steal personal and financial information, sell fake tickets and hospitality packages, and promote other fraud linked to the tournament.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As excitement grows, cybercriminals have already prepared hundreds of phishing websites to target fans looking for tickets, jobs, merchandise, streaming services, and other World Cup-related offers.
According to the FBI’s public service announcement, many of these fake domains look similar to the official fifa.com website but use small spelling changes that users may easily miss. Examples include domains like fiffa[.]com, as well as websites using different endings such as .org, .xyz, .live, and .sale. Some scammers are also creating fake job portals with names like jobs-fifa[.]com or fifa-hiring[.]com.
The FBI says these fraudulent websites often collect sensitive information from visitors, including names, home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and banking or payment details. That stolen data can then be used for identity theft, fake account creation, financial fraud, or other scams.
Cybersecurity companies have also seen a rise in World Cup-related scams. Group-IB researchers reported a major phishing operation linked to a Chinese threat actor known as Ghost Stadium. The campaign uses more than 300 fake websites that copy the real FIFA portal and appear to focus on premium ticket fraud.
Bitdefender also observed fraudulent activity around the World Cup brand starting in February. These scams targeted users in countries including the UK, Portugal, Spain, Algeria, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, and Australia. The fake campaigns included offers for merchandise, kits, collectibles, streaming services, and Panini stickers.
As interest in the World Cup increases, scammers are expected to use more fake ads, phishing links, and social media messages to trick fans. The FBI advises users to manually type fifa.com into their browser, avoid sponsored search ads, check that the website address ends in .com, bookmark official FIFA pages, avoid suspicious links sent through direct messages, and never enter sensitive information unless they are sure the website is real.
Victims are encouraged to report scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center with details such as the fake domain name, interaction history, and payment information. This can help authorities track and act against fraudulent websites.
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