£30m online festival con'
, 11:32, Thursday 31 March 2011
Festival-goers are being warned to be extra vigilant as fraudsters are set to con them out of £30m this year.
The study by Viagogo, the ticket exchange, has revealed that scammers gearing up to make £3m a month this summer through ticket scams with eBay identified as the hot spot for fraudulent activity. The research has revealed that one-in-six ticket buyers on eBay have fallen victim to a ticket scam with tickets that either never arrived or were found to be fake. While one-in-50 festival-goers last summer fell victim of a ticket scam, with more than 67,000 fans missing out on their chosen summer festival.
Edward Parkinson, director at the ticket exchange, said: "Every time a fan uses a website to buy tickets where sellers are not vetted or held accountable for their actions, they are at risk of being scammed. With the festival calendar arguably looking stronger than ever and festivals selling out at the box office in record time, we estimate that scam artists could make up to £10 million in the build up to the festivals this summer."
Fans are also being warned to be extra vigilant around high demand festivals as a number of suspicious websites are claiming to offer tickets even before the official sale date.
Mr Parkinson pointed out that fans should not judge a site by its appearance and must thoroughly research the sites before they make a purchase.
"Check to see whether the website has been endorsed by events or brands that you recognise," he said.
"Legitimate ticket resale websites will have partnerships with leading entertainment properties. Anyone can make a guarantee but fans must remember that the guarantee is only as good as the guarantor. If a site is selling festival tickets at a price that seems too good to be true, it probably is."
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