Beware of FIFA World Cup-themed phishing attempts

For scammers, any lure that has the ability to capture the attention of a great number of users is good, and popular sport events on an international level are a prime example of this.

The next FIFA World Cup is still a little less than two years away, but the immense global popularity of soccer – and especially in some Latin American countries as Brazil – make it a perfect draw for online scams.

Symantec researchers have recently spotted a number of phishing sites that look like the website of a popular Brazilian credit and debit card company, equipped with images of a popular Brazilian soccer player, FIFA World Cup’s logo and various prizes:

The phishing page was set up to look like the company is offering prizes for its customers, as well as zero billing charges on the customer’s card for exclusive trips taken to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

In order to qualify for the prizes, customers are asked to register by entering their name, social security numbers, date of birth, email address and password, as well as credit card details including card number and security code.

Once the information is entered and submitted, the victims are reassured with an acknowledgement of the registration, and the information is sent to the scammers to be misused.

Users are advised to always be on the lookout for such schemes, and to remember that unsolicited emails that link to or contain pages that require them to submit personal and/or financial information are almost surely bogus and authored by scammers.