In eight months time, athletes on the Olympic track or cyclists in the London 2012 velodrome will be seeking out their opponents' weak spots and taking the chance to strike for gold.
Outside the Olympic Park, fraudsters and counterfeiters will be doing much the same, as they try to trick the many visitors to the Games out of their money.From accommodation and parking to tickets and merchandise, these con artists will be taking every opportunity to make money from the festival of sport coming to the UK.
That is the warning from trading standards officers, police and consumer groups as the build-up to the Olympics continues.
So far, there have been relatively few reports of scams connected to next year's Olympics. Some counterfeit London 2012 lighters were seized in Coventry, while some clothing copies have been found on an internet auction site.
The massive ticket sale included the launch of a website checker, put in place to help people cross-reference whether a reselling website was legitimate.
However, at the launch of the "Good Sports Don't Fake It" campaign for National Consumer Week, experts lined up to warn that more cases should be expected in 2012.
While security may be tight at the sporting arenas, opportunities are likely to present themselves in other areas.
Mark Smith from Operation Podium, run by London's Metropolitan Police, says that other sectors that would expect to benefit from the influx of visitors could be at risk of fraud. This includes the illegal sale of theatre tickets.
"The criminal economy is worth millions of pounds," he says.Elsewhere, rogue businesses could attempt to rent out parking spaces close to venues, contravening the rules of residents' permits, according to Teresa Perchard of Citizens Advice.
"We need to get ahead of the game for issues that are just around the corner," she says.
"Businesses might be tempted to cut corners because their finances are under pressure."
She adds that there are reports of tenants being given notice by landlords who believe they can charge more for property close to an Olympic venue.
Deposits have also been paid for properties in the capital that may not even exist, she says.
Courtesy: BBC News
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