Global Surge in Qatar World Cup Cyber Fraud

RNS Number : 9870I

Brandshield Systems PLC

08 December 2022

 

8 December 2022

BrandShield Systems plc

("BrandShield," the "Company," or the "Group")

BrandShield Report Demonstrates Global Surge in Qatar World Cup Cyber Fraud

-  Cybercriminals increasingly targeting individuals around world's biggest sporting event

BrandShield Systems plc (AIM: BRSD), a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for brand oriented digital risk protection, announces new data regarding the prevalence of website, marketplace and social media fraud related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

BrandShield's in-depth report monitored websites, domain names, social media platforms and marketplaces between February and October 2022, detecting almost 10,000 domain registrations which include the terms 'FIFA', 'World Cup' or 'Qatar'. 'World Cup' and 'FIFA' were the two most popular targeted impersonations, with domain registrations increasing 252% and 137% across the period respectively.

In addition to rogue websites, BrandShield has identified a vast range of social media World Cup phishing scams. Cybercriminals are continuing to create fraudulent ticket and news pages on leading social media platforms in an attempt to deceive individuals into visiting malicious sites and revealing personal information, and BrandShield anticipates that these scams will proliferate in December.

The report also found that online marketplaces have been popular targets for cybercriminals, with trademark infringement commonplace throughout the period. Malicious actors are registering suspicious domains to pose as e-commerce platforms, alongside offering counterfeited World Cup and football themed merchandise and memorabilia to exploit consumers on these fake websites as well as on well-known e-commerce platforms.

Yoav Keren, Chief Executive Officer of BrandShield, commented:

"By posing as official websites, social media accounts, and e-commerce dealers, cybercriminals are capitalising on a significant opportunity to defraud individuals worldwide and obtain sensitive personal data. Given the global popularity of football, individuals should remain vigilant online throughout the World Cup as we expect this activity to intensify further as the tournament progresses."

Enquiries:

BrandShield Systems plc Yoav Keren, CEO	[phone]
Spark Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser) Neil Baldwin / Andrew Emmott / James Keeshan	[phone]
Shore Capital (Broker) Toby Gibbs / James Thomas (Corporate Advisory) Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)	[phone]
Vigo Consulting (Financial Public Relations) Jeremy Garcia / Kendall Hill [e-mail]	[phone]

About BrandShield

Brandshield is a provider of cybersecurity solutions from brand protection to online threat hunting. BrandShield detects online threats and takes them down. The Company's client base is a growing list of organisations including Fortune 500 and FTSE100 companies. By utilising AI and big-data analysis, BrandShield monitors, detects, and removes online threats facing companies. These threats include social phishing, executive impersonation, fraud, brand abuse, and counterfeits.

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