2026 FIFA World Cup: How cybercriminals are playing their part in the biggest sporting event

Millions of people around the world are cheering on their national teams at the FIFA World Cup in the USA. But whilst fans are celebrating goals, tracking match statistics and tuning into live streams, cybercriminals are watching the action unfold with very different intentions. Sören Schulte, email security expert at Retarus, explains why global sporting events regularly become peak season for email-based attacks and what companies can do to protect their employees and themselves.

Major sporting events are attractive to cybercriminals for one simple reason: they provide an emotional context. When millions of people are simultaneously waiting for results, streaming links, betting odds and news about their favourite teams, the threshold for clicking on a link or opening an attachment drops. It is precisely this combination of curiosity, time pressure and emotional engagement that attackers specifically exploit.

The most dangerous opponent isn’t on the pitch

The attack patterns are anything but new; only the theme is adapted to the current tournament. In the weeks surrounding the World Cup, a significant rise in phishing-based fraud attempts can be observed. The main lures used are:

• Streaming offers – fake links to supposed free live streams
• B Betting and competition promotionsB – supposed special offers or bonus promotions
• B Breaking NewsB – urgent reports on players, teams or tournament results
• B Match reports and analysesB – attachments containing malware

Added to this is a specific risk associated with this tournament season: in the run-up to the World Cup, numerous new websites for analyses, fan forums or streaming spring up in a very short space of time. As such sites are often set up under enormous time pressure, they do not always have adequate security measures in place. Even legitimate sites can be compromised and spread malicious code without anyone noticing. Anyone who clicks on a rigged link can thus pick up malware simply by visiting a website – without any further interaction. Recent warnings from the authorities also show that this is not merely a theoretical risk: The FBI has highlighted fake FIFA websites and listed examples of spoofing and typosquatting domains aimed at data theft and ticket fraud.

The Canadian Cyber Centre also expects a multitude of event-related phishing and fraud campaigns via adverts, websites and apps in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup.

What fans should bear in mind now – both personally and professionally

The tricky thing about World Cup phishing: the emotional context doesn’t stop at the company laptop. Employees who work from home during the day and keep an eye on match scores on the side are just as at risk as users who fall for suspicious emails in their private lives in the evening, potentially compromising login details that they reuse for work applications.

End users should therefore follow a few clear basic rules:

• Go straight to the source: Always access streaming services, news portals or sports betting providers directly via your browser or the official app – never via a link in an email.
• Be wary of superlatives: Offers that sound too good to be true usually are. This applies to free streams as well as to alleged World Cup tickets or exclusive betting bonuses.
• Never reuse login credentials: Anyone using the same password for private fan platforms and work applications is leaving the door wide open to attackers.

What companies should do now

Even if the risk appears to be a private matter at first glance – for companies, it gives rise to tangible threat scenarios. The following 5 steps are recommended to actively incorporate the heightened threat situation surrounding the World Cup into your security strategy:

1. Fully activate all protective measures: If reduced security policies or exceptions apply to certain user groups or applications, these should be temporarily tightened during the tournament.
2. Consistently use time-of-click protection: Modern URL protection mechanisms analyse links not only when an email is received, but again at the moment the link is clicked. This offers crucial additional protection, particularly against newly registered or recently compromised World Cup websites. Equally important: Employees should be explicitly advised to take security warnings seriously and not to reflexively dismiss splash page warnings.
3. Enable additional detection layers: As cybercriminals quickly adapt their campaigns to current events, solutions such as post-delivery protection or AI-powered sandboxing can be crucial. They identify previously unknown threats even before traditional security signatures are available.
4. Update attachment blockers: Potentially dangerous file types should be consistently blocked or checked particularly thoroughly. Attackers also use World Cup themes to circulate compromised attachments – such as supposed match schedules or statistics documents.
5. Prepare for emergencies: Even with comprehensive protective measures, a security incident cannot be completely ruled out. An email continuity service enables business email communication to continue even if the primary email infrastructure is compromised. At the same time, observability metrics provide early indications of unusual activity, delivery issues or other anomalies.

After the World Cup comes the European Championship

The tournament ends. The threat landscape does not. With every global event – be it a sporting tournament, a political election or a cultural event – similar attack patterns emerge that specifically exploit emotions and the public’s appetite for information. Companies that regularly review their security measures and adapt them to the current threat landscape are better positioned in the long term – no matter what comes next.