Welcome to our first fraud newsletter of 2026. We're kicking the new year off with two subjects many people would class as some of the most important events this year - the world cup and your holidays. With anything where people spend money, fraud is often a possibility. And fraudsters will undoubtedly try to exploit this summer's festival of football as well as people's attempts to get a holiday bargain. That's why we're highlighting tips to steer clear of fraud if buying tickets and trips this year. As always, please pass on this advice to anyone who might find it useful - or better still get them to sign up to this newsletter. Ways to do so can be found at the foot of this edition.

Thinking of heading to the World Cup? Beware of football fraud when buying tickets

It's less than six months until arguably one of the biggest sporting events in the world kicks off - and we want to stop fans being defrauded.

On Thursday June 11 the 23rd World Cup will kick off, with the first game held between Mexico and South Africa.

Confirmed nations competing include England, who will bid to win the men’s tournament for the first time since 1966, and Scotland - who will compete at a World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Price levels and demand for legitimate tickets are a gift for fraudsters, who will endeavour to capitalise on the opportunity to take fans' hard earned cash, through unofficial resale websites, social media or third-party vendors.

As is often the case with ticket fraud, some fraudsters are selling the same ticket to multiple buyers, which could be flagged as invalid or already used, resulting in denied entry.

Fans are advised not to purchase tickets other than through the official FIFA website www.fifa.com or FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace (FIFA.com/tickets)  where tickets can be resold officially through a secure channel.

Tips to avoid being a victim of ticket fraud

• Make sure the website you are buying from is secure. When buying online, check the payment pages by looking for the padlock symbol in the address bar. The website should start with ‘https’.”
• Protect yourself further by paying with a debit or credit card rather than through a bank transfer or Paypal. Why? Should you not receive your tickets, or they not be as described, your bank can get the money from the retailer’s bank through what is called `chargeback’. Those paying by credit card have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act if the price of the mis-sold goods or service is greater than £100 and less than £30,000. Something to think about when tickets for the England group stage games are selling for up to £523 while tickets for the final on 19 July are going for as much as £6,491.
• Be wary of any email or text messages out of the blue claiming you've won World Cup tickets - don't click on any links or give any personal information even if they appear to have some personal information about you already.
• Watch out for pressured tactics aimed at getting you to do something hastily without thinking logically or discussing it with anyone else. Just step away for five minutes and carry out some checks.
• If you think you have paid money to a scammer, you should report this to your bank and tell the police using the Report Fraud service (previously Action Fraud) immediately. Also consider any additional personal information you may have shared with them, for example, have you been asked to send a scan of your passport or driving licence? Your data is as valuable to fraudsters as your money and will be sold on the dark web. 

Public launch of Report Fraud

The City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, has announced the full public launch of Report Fraud - a new national service designed to transform how victims and businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland report cyber crime and fraud, and how law enforcement and industry respond. 
 
Cyber crime and fraud are now the most common crime in the UK, accounting for abour 50 per cent of all offences and costing the economy billions of pounds each year.

Cyber-enabled crime and fraud continues to grow in both scale and sophistication, targeting individuals, small businesses and major organisations alike.

Report Fraud has been created to meet this challenge head-on, providing a single, modern national gateway for reporting and intelligence that will strengthen the collective response of policing, government and the private sector. 

Report Fraud provides, for the first time, a single, modern national reporting, triage and intelligence platform for both cyber crime and fraud, enabling the City of London Police to lead policing’s 4Ps response – pursue, protect, prevent and prepare - at a national level.

Through the new service, intelligence will be assessed and disseminated across forces, serious and complex cases will be identified for specialist investigation, and victims will be directed into a consistent national standard of care and support. 

More than just technology, Report Fraud is the result of one of the largest transformation programmes ever undertaken by the City of London Police. Built from the ground up around the victim journey, it brings together the reporting of both cyber crime and fraud in one place for the first time, making it quicker, clearer and more supportive for people and businesses to come forward - and ensuring that every report counts, helping to protect others. 
 
Pete O’Doherty, Commissioner of the City of London Police and the Senior Responsible Officer for delivering Report Fraud, said:

“Report Fraud is a landmark step forward.

"The service puts victims first, gives them a clear national front door to policing, and strengthens our ability, and that of every police force, to identify, disrupt and pursue the criminals behind these offences.

"This is not just a new service; it is a major upgrade to the UK’s defences against economic crime.” 

Factfile: What is Report Fraud?

• It is the new national reporting service for cyber crime and fraud in England, Wales, and
  Northern Ireland.
  • Report Fraud takes allegations of cyber crime and fraud from individuals and businesses and records them on behalf of policing.
  • City of London Police, as part of their national lead force responsibilities, manage the service on behalf of all policing.

Sick of the winter and thinking of a holiday? Here's some top tips to help prevent falling victim to holiday fraud:

• Do your research: before committing and booking your dream holiday, make sure that you do a thorough online search to ensure the company is credible.

What to do if you have been the victim of fraud

The first thing you should do if you’ve been a victim of fraud is to contact Report Fraud. You can report a fraud via their online fraud reporting tool, or by calling them on 0300 123 2040.

Online Reporting Tool

If there is a crime being committed right now or if you are in danger you should call the police on 999.

If debit or credit cards, online banking or cheques are involved, your first step should be to contact your bank or credit card company.

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