According to the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), impersonation attacks increased by 264% for the first five months of the year compared to 2021.

Avanan, a Check Point company, has already reported an increase in World Cup-related phishing emails in a variety of languages.

Cybercriminals are very creative and always follow trends closely, even predicting change before the masses in order to maximize the outcome of their techniques. Not too many years ago, there were only a few platforms to use to target new victims while leaving little evidence and unlikely to face any repercussions. The dark web became a place to buy and sell contraband, but the numbers didn’t ever really hit the relative big time with the audiences such that those taking advantage of the technology could actually achieve their wildest dreams.

Total cryptocurrency-related scam revenue for 2022 is currently $1.6 billion, 65% lower than it was through the end of July in 2021, and this decline appears to be linked to declining currency prices.