In the coming months, soccer fans across the globe will use our apps to connect around the FIFA World Cup 2026™. While most will be rooting for their favorite teams and players, unfortunately there may be bad actors who will try to lure people into scams or harass and abuse others — offline and online.
Before the competition kicks off, Meta is sharing more details about the steps we’re taking to combat scams and keep fans and players safe.
Facebook Notifications to Educate Consumers
Starting this week, Meta is launching a Facebook pop up notification that will remind people throughout the tournament to make sure they get tickets from verifiable sources. When people search for terms related to FIFA World Cup tickets on Facebook or visit related Groups, Meta will remind them what to look out for before buying tickets, and also share links to our reporting tool so they can report suspicious content or accounts.
Combatting Scams
Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics. That’s why Meta has recently announced new investments in advanced AI, tools for people to spot and avoid scams, and partnerships with law enforcement and industry peers to take action and hold scammers accountable.
Global sporting events can lead to an increase in fraud, like ticketing scams, false offers of immigration processing, and misleading accommodations for those looking to travel to matches. Meta has dedicated teams monitoring and enforcing against accounts that attempt to target people with these scams and violate our policies.
Meta knows scammers rarely target only one platform, so it is working across industry to disrupt scam networks through the Global Signal Exchange (GSE) and Meta’s Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE). Meta collaborated with Visa through the GSE, to proactively disrupt cross-channel fraud. By providing timely and actionable scam intelligence, Visa’s Scam Disruption team facilitated Meta’s identification and dismantling of a network on Facebook that linked to spoofed websites that mimicked the FIFA World Cup 2026 official branding and promoted fake gambling content. These fraudulent websites advertised too-good-to-be-true win rates luring people to provide personal or financial information.
Meta will continue to take action and work with our partners through our signal sharing programs to get ahead of evolving scam tactics in the lead-up to, during, and after the FIFA World Cup.
The company will continue developing tools to protect community, and work closely with officials to help keep its apps safe for players and fans.
