Researchers from Avast, a cyber safety brand of Gen, has warned of ticket scams surrounding this summer’s Olympic games. Avast has found that during the last summer games in 2020, phishing and scam attacks rose by over 280%, and during the last winter games in 2022, it rose 238%. Researchers predict that Paris 2024 will be no different.
With the demand increasing for tickets in recent days, Avast have identified the top 4 scam websites to look out for when buying tickets for the Olympics:
· https://www[.]paris24tickets[.]com/
· https://tickets-paris24[.]com/
· https://tickets.vipeventsteam[.]com/
Cyber safety experts Gen suspect that all four websites are run by a cybercriminal group specialising in ticket scams for various events across the globe.
Filip Husak, Data Analyst for Avast, said: “Cybercriminals often exploit the popularity of the Olympic Games to send fraudulent emails or messages pretending to be from official sources, offering fake tickets, merchandise, or urgent updates. We’re also seeing fraudsters use social media platforms to create fake profiles, contests, and promotions related to the Olympics to trick users into revealing personal information or clicking on malicious links. To keep protected from such scams, always verify the sender’s address and look for signs of phishing, such as poor grammar and unexpected attachments or links.
Purchase tickets only from the official Olympic website or authorized sellers, and avoid sharing personal or financial information on unofficial ticket resale platforms. These scams will often try to play to your sense of urgency to stop you from thinking critically before you make your purchase. So, take caution and stay wary of offers that seem too good to be true to keep yourself protected.”
Avast is a leader in digital security and privacy, and part of Gen™ (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Avast protects hundreds of millions of users from online threats, for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Learn more at Avast.com. Visit: www.avast.com.
