Sports betting has become the leading vehicle for football-related fraud in Brazil, accounting for 75% of all sports scams identified in a new study by cybersecurity company NordVPN.
The findings highlight how cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting football fans during major sporting events, particularly the World Cup, by combining emotional engagement with urgency to lure victims into fraudulent schemes.
According to the survey, one in nine Brazilians has already lost money to football-related scams, while roughly one in three reported encountering some form of football fraud between 2024 and 2025.
Although betting scams dominated the findings, fake match tickets remained another major concern, appearing in 65% of reported cases. Counterfeit football merchandise accounted for 57%.
Within the betting category, fake betting tips were the most common scam, identified by 53% of respondents. Fraudulent betting offers followed closely at 50% while scams involving bonuses that required advance payments represented 43% of cases. Phishing attacks targeting betting platforms accounted for a further 32%.
The study suggests fraudsters deliberately target moments of heightened excitement, when supporters are more likely to make quick decisions without verifying information.
Among respondents who suffered financial losses, the most commonly reported emotions were excitement and frustration, both cited by 36% of victims, followed by stress at 27%.
Financial losses were typically relatively modest, with most victims reporting losses between $50 and $100. However, NordVPN noted that the repeated nature of these attacks significantly increases their overall impact.
“Football-related scams work because they’re built around emotion and urgency,” said Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN.
“When people are excited about a match, looking for tickets or searching for betting tips, they’re much more likely to act first and verify later. That’s exactly what scammers are counting on.”
Brazil’s Ministry of Finance opened administrative proceedings against Bet365, Betnacional and KTO over World Cup advertising campaigns aired on CazéTV, alleging the adverts created an excessive sense of urgency to place bets and failed to display mandatory responsible gambling warnings clearly
