Cybercrime in Sports: Scoring Against Scams Using Sports
It's the big
night! Your favorite sport's biggest championship is finally here and
you're all excited to join the roar of the crowd and cheer on your
team. The great publicity for the event worked. You've been convinced
to attend the event, and you've gotten two spots in a promotion you found
online, for you and your best friend. And then you found out the promotion
was a scam and… you got scammed.
Most major sporting
events have become frequent targets for cybercrime, including
terrorism. While the former is not necessarily life-threatening, it can
still lead to threats such as identity theft, financial loss, and reputational
damage. With a large legion of fans, spectators, organizations and even
government agencies investing in national and international events, they have
become the perfect opportunity for cybercriminals to take advantage of fans'
enthusiasm and their dependence on technology through social engineering and
other techniques. online threats.
A historical breakdown of sports-related cybercrime
One of the first
electronic attacks can be found back in 1980. Since then, the advancement of
technology – and the threats that take advantage of these trends – have
evolved, making online threats easier to be found by any user. To give you
an idea, this is a summary of notable online scams connected to sporting
events.
2008 Beijing
Olympics – Hundreds of victims lost a lot of money on a fake Beijing
Olympics website. The site posed as a ticket sales site, but was actually
a phishing site that stole credit card information and other personal
information.
FIFA World Cup 2010 – Spamming at
sporting events is one of the most common techniques used by
attackers. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, an email referring to a fake
“Final Draw” contest was circulated, along with a $550,000 prize. Victims
were tricked into providing personal information in a funds transfer
transaction. The scam is reminiscent of the Nigerian 419 scam
which tricked users into sending money by promising a large sum of money in
return for their cooperation.
London 2012 Olympic
Games – Similar to the spam attacks used in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, a
spam campaign tricked users into sending an email saying that they had won the
“London 2012 Olympic Games Lottery”. However, before claiming their
“prize”, recipients were asked to call a number, respond to the malicious email
and provide their personal information. Another scam offered users tickets
to the event, allowing cybercriminals to steal their online banking
information.
United States 2014
World Cup – Using everything from adware and phishing attacks to banking
trojans, cybercriminals wasted no time capitalizing on the highly anticipated
soccer championship, the 2014 World Cup in United States. Fans, including
regular users, have been tricked into disclosing sensitive details like
personal and financial information on phishing websites, search engines, spam
emails and even fake apps.
Highly publicized
international events will continue to be used by cybercriminals as bait to lure
users into their online traps. Attackers know that users tend to take
security measures for granted, especially when it comes to rushing to attend
major sporting events. That's why it's important to understand the various
types of web attacks they use to stay vigilant and protect your online
behavior. These are some tips on how to win the game in your next
encounter with a scammer.
- Set the Tone of the Game – Stick to the
official websites when purchasing event-themed merchandise. Bookmark
official licensed retail sites to avoid typing in the wrong
address. This also goes for when booking your tickets or engaging in
other related promotional activities.
- DEFENSE! don't believe too good deals
because they are more likely worse gifts waiting to steal your personal
and financial information. Remember, when something sounds too good
to be true, it's a warning sign. Also, always check that they are
legitimate, regardless of whether they came via email, websites, links,
and especially posts found on social media. If you fall for a scam,
your followers and friends can fall too.
- Dodge the bullet – rely on a comprehensive security solution that can defend against web attacks. Don't
forget to protect your mobile devices too! The convenience of using
mobile devices can provide the same level of ease for cybercriminals to
get to you if you are not protected.
