Scotland Yard 'cyber-police' have saved tens of thousands of football fans from buying fraudulent tickets for World Cup next year.

The Met's e-crime Unit has shut down more than 100 websites selling fake tickets after Fifa, football's world governing body, asked for assistance. About 20 of those websites were in Britain.

Fifa executives are said to believe the problem will become worse.

It is thought thousands of football fans could already have bought fake tickets. The e-crime unit is thought to have saved many more from parting with their cash.

The fraudsters take money for the tickets online, then send buyers fakes or nothing at all. Fifa general secretary Jérôme Valcke said: “We applaud New Scotland Yard. We simply cannot accept that true fans are being cheated in this way.”

A similar police operation before the Wimbledon Championships in June found a site selling fake tickets for the tennis final for £2,499.

Fifa expects to sell three million tickets for the 64 matches in South Africa. It said fans must buy only from authorised companies.

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