The hotly anticipated release of blockbuster video game FIFA 21 on Oct. 6, along with the return of professional play, are giving soccer fans reason to celebrate. And, unsurprisingly, cybercriminals are already figuring out how to capitalize.

A report from researcher Christopher Boyd at Malwarebytes Labs outlined the various ways scammers are tapping into the oversized audience of FIFA 21 to turn a quick buck, including leveraging in-game goods and rewards.

FIFA, Fans and Ronaldo: A Crook’s Hat Trick

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport, drawing in an estimated 3.5 billion fans all over the globe. Bloomberg reported during the last World Cup that four out of 10 people in the world consider themselves to be fans of the game.

That enthusiasm extends to the blockbuster video gaming franchise, FIFA, named after the sport’s international rules organization. The brand is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the top selling sports video game of all time, with more than 280 million copies of the game sold in at least 51 countries.

The fact that the pandemic has slowed down in-person play (while one of the sport’s brightest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week) hasn’t done anything to deter people from immersing themselves in the “beautiful game.” And it’s exactly that devotion and online interest that cybercriminals are leveraging to trick fans into their traps.

Coins, Cards, Points and Fraud

In his blog post explanation of his findings, Boyd explained that fraudsters are finding an easy hunting ground through a game mode called FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT).

Within this mode, players can earn “coins” which are used within the game to buy “cards,” which Boyd described as “the lifeblood of the game.”

__Phishing page example. Source: Malwarebytes

“So far, so good…and essentially harmless,” he continued. “Unfortunately, the monetized aspects of the game away from the screen contributes to scammers wanting a piece of the action.”

He pointed out there’s something called “FIFA points” which can be bought with real-life money within the game and from legit third parties. This is exactly the type of scenario that tends to grab the attention of fraudsters, he pointed out.

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