USA vs England: Live stream searches for Women's World Cup game surge as fans seek free ways to watch semi-final

Cyber security experts warn online streaming links pose dangers to visitors

Online searches for links to watch the semi-final of the 2019 Women’s World Cup semi-final between the USA and England have surged, despite cyber security concerns.

Google searches for free ways to watch the Women’s World Cup surged in the hours leading up to tonight's game, but experts warn that search results could contain malware that could put people’s financial and personal details at risk.

The match will be broadcast live on BBC One in the UK, allowing anyone with a TV licence to watch the game either online or through their television sets.

In the US the game is shown on Fox and Telemundo, meaning fans will need a paid subscription.

As a result, some will search for illicit ways to watch the match, either via online search engines, or through links shared to social media platforms like Twitter.

LIVE: Follow England vs USA Women's World Cup semi-final

Viewing figures for the 2019 tournament have already broken previous records, with the final matches anticipated to be even more popular.

England’s previous match against Norway, which the Lionesses won 3-0, reached a peak TV audience of 7.6 million viewers on the BBC in the UK.

This audience has grown from the 6.1 million viewers who tuned in to watch England’s first game against Scotland on 9 June.

Google searches for ‘World Cup streaming’ and ‘World Cup live stream’ rose more than 16-fold in the hours leading up to kickoff, reaching higher levels than any point of the tournament so far.

(Getty)

Cyber security experts warned earlier this summer that criminals and hackers will be targeting anyone turning to illegal streaming sites.

“Fake sites and redirects are a popular tactic used by cyber criminals and the fans paying to watch tonight’s match need to be aware of them, even if they look legitimate," Joseph Woodruff, a threat intelligence analyst at cyber security firm EclecticIQ, told The Independent last month ahead of England's Nations League match against the Netherlands.

"Cyber criminals use these sites to target users by telling them they have malware on their machine, recommending they call a support number and during the phone call, installing software which allows them into the system. It’s from here that other damage can be done, whether that is stealing payment details or installing ransomware."

Other ways hackers can compromise the safety of viewers is through something called 'typo-squatted domains', where fake URLs host sites that appear legitimate.