Shamrock Updates: June 2026
Operation Shamrock Newsletter
Friends,
It may feel like vacation time for many, but scammers and transnational crime don’t take time off. In fact, they’re taking advantage of the FIFA World Cup to target soccer fans. Here are a few ways they’re doing it:
PHISHING & SPOOFED WEBSITES: Scammers build exact replicas of FIFA.com to steal your personal data, banking information, and login details. Watch for fake search results, social media from unofficial accounts, and URLs with typos or odd extensions, like flfa.bok.
COUNTERFEIT TICKETS: Who wouldn’t want to see Lionel Messi break more all-time records in person? Watch for counterfeit sellers in social media, Telegram channels, and peer-to-peer marketplace sites like Craigslist.
IMPERSONATION: Fortinet identified 1700+ suspected FIFA-related impersonation accounts before the games even began. Almost 90% were on Facebook and Instagram. Scammers use impersonation to run ticket scams, phish, and distribute malware.
RETAIL & MERCH SCAMS: It looks like an authentic jersey or an amazing travel package to a host city. Unfortunately, if a shirt arrives, it isn’t a legit version. And the travel packages exist only to steal your personal and financial data.
With kids home from school and family get-togethers on the calendar, there’s no time like the present to connect to make sure they’re aware of scams and fraud.
Erin West
Founder, Operation Shamrock
Watch the Testimony: House Select Committee on China
Operation Shamrock’s Erin West testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on China. Titled “Crime, Corruption, and Power: The Rise of CCP-linked Scam Networks Targeting Americans and Threatening U.S. Security,” Erin testified about the human impact of scams on victims. >> Watch the Session >> Read Erin’s Full Written Testimony
Did You Know?
Build your knowledge about scams.
How Scammers Get Your Personal Data — And Use It Against You
The organizations behind fraud and scams use your personal data to create “shadow profiles” that fuel personalized scams.4 Elements of Retail and Online Shopping Scams Online retail scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated as they leverage AI, social media, and highly targeted ads to deceive shoppers.
What Is Business Email Compromise? Whether you’re a small business or part of a major enterprise, scammers hope you won’t question authority when it comes to paying the bills.
How Scammers Use Voice Cloning Scammers can use your voice to scam your family and friends. Your voice is the perfect impersonation weapon, and you’re near a microphone nearly 24x7.
Share Your Scam Story
Share your experience to help educate our teams, the public, and the organizations we work with. The Survivor Stories program is an opportunity to help us better educate others to protect themselves and improve support for people affected by scams. >> Sign Up
Stolen Podcast
In case you missed them, check out our May episodes.
How Romance Fraud Hijacks Your Brain Chemistry Anna Rowe, fraud survivor and co-founder of LoveSaid.org, explains why romance fraud works and why it’s important to change the language people use to talk about it.
You Can’t Believe Your Eyes: The Deepfake Crisis Carl Bogan talks about the evolution of deepfakes — from his pioneering viral video to today’s need to protect businesses and consumers from scams and fraud.
How Crypto, the Dark Web, and Fentanyl Deaths Are Connected Keven Hendricks, a 20-year law enforcement veteran, pulls back the curtain on the dark web and the connections with cybercrime and drug sales.
Romance Fraud: One Woman’s Journey from Target to Survivor A scammer used calculated, precise psychological manipulation in a six-month romance fraud that dismantled Kirsty’s finances, her sense of self, and nearly her life.
THANK YOU TO OUR STOLEN PODCAST SPONSORS
We are grateful to Scamnetic and BioCatch for their support of Stolen and the work they do to detect and prevent scams every day.
Share Your Scam Story
Share your experience to help educate our teams, the public, and the organizations we work with. The Survivor Stories program is an opportunity to help us better educate others to protect themselves and improve support for people affected by scams. >> Sign Up
How to Support Operation Shamrock
Transnational organized crime syndicates steal hundreds of billions of dollars, household by household, every year.
Donations allow us to continue our work and build capacity to expand education, foster private-public connections, and take action in the fight against scams. If you’re unable to donate, sharing our message is a great way to support our efforts.
Operation Shamrock is registered in the U.S. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.