Kaspersky Lab has identified phishing emails from fraudsters offering users the chance to snap up much sought after ‘guest’ tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Cup – but at a higher price than some fans bargained for.

Anyone looking to buy official tickets needs to complete several authentication steps, including buying through the official FIFA website, and can only buy one ticket at a time or select the "guest tickets" option to buy up to three more.

However, these are registered under specific names and can only be transferred if the holder applies.

But despite this complicated process, fraudsters have been doing their thing.

When the window to buy tickets opened, the official website experienced a massive surge in user numbers, which led to connection problems.

During this process, fraudsters bought up as many tickets as they could for selling them on to a desperate fan base.

With tickets now sold out, many people have no alternative but to go to touts or third parties if they want to attend a game.

Fraudsters have set up hundreds of domains with wording related to the World Cup to sell their tickets.

Many are offering at more than double the official price, with some tickets going for up to 10 times the original price, according to Kaspersky Lab experts.

But with full advance payment required, there is no guarantee that fraudsters will send the tickets, that guest tickets reserved in other people’s names will enable entry into the stadium, or even if they will be genuine.

Besides, the payment information used now to buy from them gives the scammers all they need to steal more money in future.

“This type of cyber fraud can also lead to further money stealing. We urge sport fans to be extra vigilant and savvy when buying tickets. No matter how attractive the offer is, the only way to ensure you don’t get duped is to use authorised sellers,” Andrey Kostin, senior web-content analyst at Kaspersky Lab, warned. — VNS