14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers from Symantec warn that fake ticket scams capitalizing on the huge interest into the upcoming Cricket World Cup have already been spotted online.
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will start on February 19 and will be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The Cricket World Cup is considered the world's fourth most viewed sporting event after the FIFA World Cup, the Summer Olympic Games and the Rugby World Cup.
One recent spam campaign is offering fans an exclusive "Cricket World Cup Corporate Hospitality Package" at the final game, set to take place in Mumbai.
The package is supposed to include a private table for ten people, gourmet champagne brunch, corporate signage, celebrity guest speaker, open bar, giant screen coverage, post match buffet and more.
"The countdown to this event has begun and we expect to see more sophisticated spam and phishing attacks related to the World Cup," warns Symantec security researcher Samir Patil.
"Perhaps the sinister spam attacks will contain attachments that intend to distribute malware using fake video files purportedly showing highlights of the games," he adds.
People are advised to only buy tickets and travel packages from known legitimate sources. If the transactions are to be performed online, the websites should always be protected by SSL certificates.
Web-based attacks like malvertizing which lead users to malicious pages distributing malware are common before and during such sporting events.
Cybercriminals also known to launch black hat SEO campaigns that poison search results for related keywords with malicious links, so they are to be expected.
Surfing with an up-to-date antivirus program installed, preferably featuring an Web protection component is critically important for one's security.
Numerous online scams have recently been reported during the Super Bowl in the United States and the FIFA World Cup last year.