Experts warn World Cup fans about AI

SAN ANTONIO – With the FIFA World Cup drawing fans from around the globe, experts are warning travelers to be on high alert for increasingly sophisticated scams targeting fans eager to attend matches.

From fake vacation rentals to counterfeit tickets, artificial intelligence is helping scammers create fraudulent websites that closely resemble legitimate booking platforms and official ticket sellers.

“We’re seeing a lot of very well-created sites,” said Emily Griffin, Director of Financial Crimes Practice at Moody’s. “They’re using AI to generate what would look like completely legitimate bookings, whether they’re spoofing a real hotel, creating a new one or creating a fake Airbnb listing.”

According to Griffin, scammers are using AI-generated photos, realistic confirmation emails and customer service chatbots that make victims believe they are interacting with legitimate customer service representatives.

In some cases, travelers don’t realize they’ve been scammed until they arrive at their destination, only to discover there is no hotel reservation waiting for them.

Because FIFA World Cup tickets are so expensive, Griffin said scammers often create websites that closely imitate official FIFA pages, making it difficult to spot fraudulent sites at first glance.

“It could be FIFA, but with a third ‘F’ in it. It could be instead of FIFA.com, it’s FIFA.co.net,” Griffin said. “At first glance, it looks like you’re going to the correct site, but it’s really not. Many of these sites have very convincing-looking graphics.”

Experts recommend purchasing World Cup tickets only through FIFA’s official ticketing platform or other trusted, authorized sellers.

Griffin also advises consumers to be skeptical of deals that seem unusually inexpensive.

“I think the major thing to realize is, if it looks too good to be true, it’s going to be,” Griffin said.

Griffin also encourages travelers to verify websites before making purchases.

“Verify the information, verify it’s a trusted site,” Griffin said.

Experts say fans should be especially cautious if a seller offers tickets well below market value or requests payment through peer-to-peer payment services such as Venmo, Cash App, Zelle or wire transfers. Requests for bank account information should also be treated as a major red flag.