Fraudsters are offering One Direction e-tickets on Twitter to victims who are unaware that they are buying £50 fakes to see the band perform later in the year at The O2, warns Action Fraud. The tickets have a face value of £65 plus service charge and sell for around £200 on secondary websites.
Original tickets are usually photocopied and sold on over and over again by fraudsters, the authorities say. They do this by copying the bar code from the tickets and make dozens of counterfeit copies which are then sold to other victims. If you buy one of these tickets you would be refused entry into a venue.
How to protect yourself from buying a fake ticket
Always check with the event organiser for official ticket distribution lists and never buy from unauthorised sources, particularly though social networks such as Twitter, Facebook etc
Pay for tickets by credit card – the card issuer is jointly liable for a failure for goods or services to be provided as long as the price of a single ticket is over than £100.
Only make purchase from sites encrypted for payment. Look for the closed padlock and the web address in the browser should begin “https”.
If you are unsure about a website, run a quick online search and check ticketing forums to find feedback from others.
Be aware of telephone numbers starting 070 or 004470. These can be set-up on the internet and answered anywhere.
Always check sellers’ privacy policy and returns policy.
You can now sign up for free to Action Fraud Alert to receive direct, verified, accurate information about scams and fraud in your area by email, recorded voice and text message. The system is provided by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) which is run by the City of London Police as a national service.
