Fraud risk as World Cup frenzy begins, fans warned

Football fans are being urged to be alert to fraud ahead of the World Cup, with victims of ticket scams losing £215 on average.

Research by Lloyds suggests football ticket scams increased by 36% during the current Premier League season.

The analysis was based on cases between October 2025 and March 2026, comparing this with the same period a year earlier.

Fraudsters often focus heavily on popular teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, as well as in-demand matches.

The bank now fears scammers will attempt to exploit interest in the upcoming World Cup.

Its warning comes as the cost of the best available tickets for the World Cup final has been tripled by FIFA, less than five weeks before the tournament starts.

Football's governing body put seats for the match at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium in July on sale for $32,970 (£24,176) on Thursday.

The tickets, listed as front category one on FIFA's ticket sales site, previously cost $10,990 (£8,000) - a price that now only applies to seats in the wheelchair and easy access sections of the venue in East Rutherford.

England face Panama in their final group game on 27 June at the stadium, which is home to both the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets.

Tickets for the first semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were on offer for between $2,705 (£1,984) and $11,130 (£8,164).

Fans wanting to see the other last-four clash at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium the following day will now have to stump up between $2,725 (£1,999) and $10,635 (£7,801).

The highest-priced seats for the USA's group games were $2,970 (£2,179) for the third and final match against Turkey, while the lowest top price was $2,715 (£1,991) for the second game against Australia.

The joint hosts open their campaign against Paraguay on 12 June at the futuristic SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended its pricing, saying on Tuesday it was operating "in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates".

He told the Milken Institute Global Conference in California that in the US "it is permitted to resell tickets, as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price".

Mr Infantino added: "And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price."

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Pointing to other US sports, he said tickets for college gridiron football games cost $300 (£220).

Last month, someone listed tickets for the final on FIFA's resale site for $2,299,998.85 (£1.7m).

Asked about the sky-high prices, Mr Infantino said he would give them a hot dog and a Coke "to make sure that he has a great experience".

Sky News has approached FIFA for a comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Fraud risk as World Cup frenzy begins, fans warned