Beware of cyber crime when buying 2010 tickets

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

Symantec said cyber criminals see high profile sporting events as a "prime opportunity".

"As time draws near, fans become increasingly likely to take risks and purchase tickets through unauthourised channels or believe the promises in unsolicited emails," said Candid Wueest, from Symantec. "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.

"Analysis of spam and phishing attacks around major events in the past has shown an increase in such themed attacks."

Symantec urged web users to purchase tickets only from FIFA-registered sellers and avoid deals that sound too good to be true, as they probably are.

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