Cape Town – A warning to people thinking of buying soccer World Cup tickets on the internet was circulated yesterday by Project 2010, a website promoting the competition.

The warning originates from web security firm Symantec, which said it expected a huge rise in World Cup-related spam and phishing attacks in the run-up to and during the finals.

Symantec said cyber-criminals saw high profile sporting events as a “prime opportunity”.

“As the time draws near, fans become increasingly likely to take risks and purchase tickets through unauthorised channels or believe the promises in unsolicited e-mails,” said Symantec spokesman Candid Wueest. “This can not only land fans with useless counterfeit tickets but also lead to the theft of their credit card details and fund organised crime.”

Symantec urged internet users to buy tickets only from Fifa-registered sellers and avoid deals that sound too good to be true – “because they probably are”. – I-Net Bridge