FIFA World Cup 2026: LASD Issues Warning Over Crypto Scams Days Ahead of World Cup

The Los Angeles (LA) County Sheriff's Department (LASD) has issued a public warning about a rise in World Cup-related online crypto scams targeting football fans who are in the hunt for match tickets, merchandise, hospitality packages, streaming services, and betting opportunities. As per the report, cybercriminals are exploiting the popularity of the sport by creating fake FIFA websites and social media advertisements that have a great resemblance to ticketing and checkout platforms. Authorities have warned that scammers have built such fraudulent websites that pose as official FIFA pages so that they can collect sensitive personal and financial information from football fans. 

Officials Advise Fans to Avoid Crypto Payments and Unverified Sellers

The warning emphasises that cryptocurrency is one of the payment methods that is frequently requested by scammers as a payment mode. Hence, the authorities have cautioned fans against purchasing tickets or related products from sellers who demand payment in cryptocurrencies, wire transfers, peer-to-peer payment applications, gift cards, or other difficult-to-reverse methods. Law enforcement officials have also added that cryptocurrency transactions are difficult to track, and once the money is transferred, victims are often limited in their options to recover their stolen money. 

The department also cautioned consumers not to believe screenshots, PDF confirmations or paper tickets sold by private individuals online, as this material can easily be faked. 

Officials have advised that fans should access FIFA's official website directly through their browser rather than clicking links shared through advertisements, social media posts, text messages, Telegram groups, or WhatsApp chats. The agency gave a few precautions in their statement, such as “Verify that the URL of the FIFA website ends in [.]com and is correctly entered as www.fifa.com. Avoid clicking on any link whose URL differs from the legitimate FIFA website to mitigate the risk of fraud.” They further added that “Use Bookmarks or Favorites for navigating to login websites rather than clicking on Internet search results or advertisements.” 

Earlier this week, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also issued a warning to football clubs that sponsorship agreements with unauthorised crypto firms and trading platforms can expose them to legal liabilities, money laundering risks, and cause harm to their reputation. The regulators stated that all these clubs should look to carry out stronger checks on firms that are paying for branding, shirt placements, or other commercial partnerships.  

Officials have also advised what the victims should do in case they are exposed to the scam and said that the victims should immediately contact law enforcement, notify their banks or credit card providers, preserve screenshots and transaction records, and finally file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).