A team of cyberpolice from New Scotland Yard have helped to save tens of thousands of football fans from being duped into buying bogus tickets for the 2010 World Cup finals on the internet, reports The Times. The Times has learnt that the unit has tracked down and closed more than 100 sites so far, with as many as 20 based in Britain and the rest spread around the world. But Fifa executives fear that these fraudsters are only the pioneers of an internet crimewave that will become more severe as the World Cup approaches.

Fifa has no precise figures, but it is thought that thousands of fans may already have handed over money for tickets that do not exist.

"Our work with New Scotland Yard is yet another example that we are taking serious steps to stop unauthorised entities from selling tickets to the 2010 Fifa World Cup," Jerome Valcke, the Fifa general secretary, told The Times.

"We applaud the work of New Scotland Yard in its efforts to ensure that our common goal is to target and shut down illegitimate entities or unauthorised tickets. We simply cannot accept that true fans are being cheated in this way."