Hundreds of thousands of people have gotten their hands on FIFA 2022 World Cup Qatar tickets. With the World Cup set to kick off in November, ticket sales are already booming. This year’s tournament is expected to pump billions into the economy, and will attract over one million tourists to the tiny nation. While it’s certainly a major event for soccer fans around the world, it’s also an opportunity for online fraudsters to take advantage of the buzz surrounding the event.
As tickets are sold through the lottery, a wave of fake lottery emails has begun tricking prospective victims into sending money. These fake lottery emails claim to be from the World Cup and tell potential victims that they’ve won a $1.5 million prize. They use generic subject lines and ask for personal identification information.
These emails are originating from US IP addresses, but are sent to people all around the world. Scammers target countries such as Sweden, Ireland, and Romania. They tell recipients that they have won a lottery and ask for their personal information. They also ask for a fee to send the ATM card to the recipient. The ATM Visa Card can be used at any ATM machine in the world.
The most expensive ticket is for the final game. It costs $1,600. This is a 45 percent increase over the final in Russia in 2018. But there are also a number of cheaper tickets available for less-popular matches. Qatari residents will pay as little as $11 for a ticket to the less-popular games. In addition, Qatar has spent billions on building seven new stadiums for the World Cup.
Ticket sales are also regulated. There are two million tickets available for the general public and 1.2 million tickets available for sponsors. Each Football/Soccer Association is assigned tickets to its fans. Fans can apply for tickets online. Tickets for matches with high demand will be allocated through a lottery. If fans do not get tickets for a particular game, they can apply for tickets again in the second round.
There is also a third category of tickets. These tickets are offered by corporate sponsors. These corporate sponsors are not allowed to resell the tickets. Ticket purchases are processed as a real-time transaction. Corporate sponsors will be responsible for managing the ticket inventory.
FIFA advises fans to apply for tickets early. This will help fans avoid the headache of trying to find tickets at a later date. The window for applications will close at 1:00 pm Doha time, on Tuesday. The FIFA website will also let fans apply for tickets online.
There are also a number of scammers targeting the 2022 World Cup. Scammers are contacting people all over the world by sending fake lottery emails claiming to be from the World Cup and the Federation Internationale de Football Association. They use generic subject lines and ask for a fee before sending the ATM card to the recipient. They also claim to be winners of the FIFA Lotto and request personal identification information.
