Three Lions supporters are heading into a “hacking hotbed” according to security experts and are at real risk of serious fraud.
Forced to use WiFi by extremely high costs of mobile phone data, fans will be at the mercy of skilled Russian hackers looking to gain access and empty their accounts.
According to security expert George Avetisov, hackers will be targeting large groups using a “spray and spray” tactic.
He said: “Imagine arriving home from the World Cup and finding funds transferred out of your account or withdrawn from an ATM.
“The large influx of inexperienced and vulnerable users presents an interesting target for malicious hackers looking for fun or profit.
“The bad guys are listening to get your user credentials.”
England fans have flooded over to Volgograd for the Three Lions’ opening game against Tunisia.
Supporters from all over the world have travelled to Russia for the World Cup, leading to a heightening of security fears.
With Euro 2016 ending up a fiasco as fans attacked one another in the streets, supporters have been advised to be on their guard.
Avetisov explained that all it takes is access to personal information and a credential reuse attack – where the hackers pretend to be you – and they have full access to your bank account.
He added: “We often tend to glamorize hackers as these vigilante or groups with an activist agenda, but a lot of the times it’s just an overzealous security engineer or inexperienced malicious hacker trying to break things for fun.
“That's not to say that state-sponsored groups and activists wouldn't attack events like the World Cup, but a large number of malicious hacks are attempted by script kiddies.”
He went on to explain that in the modern age of iPads and iPhones, all it takes is information to completely rinse someone’s bank account.
“In 2018, data is money. If your credentials are compromised then they will be reused against you.
“Malicious hackers can use compromised data to launch new attacks for financial gain, and in some cases can use data to blackmail or ransom users.”
England take on Tunisia at tonight as the Three Lions look to make their mark on the competition with a win.
