Ticket scammers target 2011's big events

Buyers warned about host of fake sites.

Daniel Lomas - 12 November 2010

Reading and Leeds, V Festival and high profile events such as Take That, Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon are targeted as tickets quickly sell out, official websites crash and desperate buyers are tempted by seemingly reliable websites, reports the BBC.

However, many of the sites which appear respectable are designed to take the buyers money for tickets that don't exist. The sites then claim they have not received their ticket allocation from their suppliers and customers are told to seek a refund under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Thousands of people, many first-time buyers of festival tickets, are victims of these scams each year and websites such as safeconcerts.com have been set up to advise buyers of the potential risks in buying tickets online.

"It's a new trend that we've seen escalate in the the past few months," Reg Walker, director of security specialists, the Iridium Consultancy told the BBC.

He added: "The customer is a bit miffed at not getting their tickets, but because they tend to get their money back, they don't see themselves as victims and so a lot of it goes unreported."

Walker will talk on a UK Festival Awards panel entitled 'Crime Busters' next Thursday (18 November). We will bring you the full details of everything discussed.

Safeconcerts.com have published a list of suspect sites and buyers are advised to trust only official sites as suggested by official event websites.

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