Heading for the World Cup? Warning: You could be Trumped

Planning to head to the US for the FIFA World Cup later this year? 

 
More than 120 civil society organisations and fan groups have advised extreme caution in a letter to visiting fans, The New York Times reports. 

Among the signatories to the letter are Amnesty International USA, Reporters Without Borders, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The total includes organisations from each of the World Cup’s 11 host cities. 

The US is a co-host of the event with Canada and Mexico. 

The letter warns that those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals are “most vulnerable to serious harm” when travelling within the country due to government policies. 

The advisory, published Thursday, is directed towards fans, players, journalists, and other visitors, calling upon each individual to “exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan” amidst what they term as the “Trump administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence”.

Evidence cited as part of the advisory includes 48 deaths in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since the beginning of 2025, total or partial restrictions on entries for visitors from 39 countries, and the presence of ICE agents at airports across the US over recent months.

Both FIFA and the White House rejected these concerns in statements to The Athletic, the New York Times' sports outlet.

The advisory warns of six separate risks to visitors, saying these are “in breach of the United States’ human rights obligations under domestic and international law”. 

These are:

*The arbitrary denial of entry and risk of detention and/or deportation
*Expanded limitations on travel and entry into the U.S.
*Invasive social media screening and searches of electronic devices
* “Violent and unconstitutional” immigration enforcement, including racial profiling and other discrimination
* “Suppression” of speech and protest
* Serious risk of mistreatment while being held in immigration detention facilities

They advise that visitors secure electronic devices by removing sensitive information and turning off facial recognition or fingerprint passwords, as well as alerting friends and family to their exact itinerary.

“FIFA has been paying lip service to human rights while cosying up with the Trump administration, putting millions of people at risk of being harmed and their basic rights violated,” said Jamil Dakwar, human rights program director at the ACLU. 

“The Trump administration’s abusive actions continue to threaten our communities, tourists, and fans alike - and it’s past time that FIFA uses its leverage to push for meaningful policy changes and binding assurances that will make people feel safe to travel and enjoy the games.” 

Representatives from Trump’s administration and the White House’s World Cup Task Force strongly pushed back at any suggestion questioning the tournament’s safety, the newspaper reported.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the White House World Cup Task Force has worked relentlessly to ensure the 2026 World Cup will be the most incredible sporting event in U.S. history,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force.

New scam targets unsuspecting Qantas customers

There is a new scam that targets unsuspecting Qantas flyers.

If you receive an email with an image like the one above from a formresponse.com email then you are advised to immediately delete it and block the address.

Whatever you do make sure you do not click on the link, which will contain malware designed to redirect you to a URL aimed at stealing your information.

My wife received an authentic-looking email this morning, saying that: "Qantas has sent you a Gift Coupon. Use it today or whenever you like, it never expires!

"From: Qantas Gift Coupon. Value: 99.5 AUD.

"This gift coupon can be redeemed only once. Please do not share the link with others. Choose your preferred method for redeeming the coupon."

The dodgy email address was one clue; as was the fact that no name or frequent flyer number was used. The way the dollar sum was written also does not look like it was written by an Australian.

This gift coupon can be redeemed only once. Please do not share the link with others Choose your preferred method for redeeming the coupon.

Newsletter TravelWeekly.com.au reports that Qantas has warned against similar scams. 

“From time to time we are made aware of email scams and social media posts that claim to be authentic Qantas communications," the airline says on its website.

 

" These may ask customers to visit an external site and download a file or confirm customer details.

“We will never ask customers to click a link to download a file about bookings from a website, including our own. We send important documents that relate to your booking as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files that you can download directly.”