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Crooks pitch World Cup scams after group draw

Speculative efforts from outside the box discouraged

Cybercrooks have begun punting World Cup ticket and HD TV viewing scams as a successor to earlier lottery-based cons.

The revision of earlier fraud follows the final draw for the 2010 World Cup last Friday. Now, in addition to the opportunity to "claim cash prizes" in a draw by South African Football Association they have never entered, prospective marks are also getting offers to "watch live games online".

Victims of this particular scam pay to download a HD video player, which will supposedly come into its own next year, but actually receive only a rogue security (AKA scareware) product, net security firm McAfee warns. In addition, fake club offers, which promise desperate fans a chance to win match day tickets but are solely geared towards collecting subscriptions, have also begun springing up.

A blog post by McAfee (here) illustrates these varied threats.

Football fans looking to buy tickets are advised to book through fifa.com, or obtain packages via local football association or reputable travel agents. Unsolicited online offers are almost inevitably going to be fake, while offers through auction sites are also fraught with risk. ®

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