Fraudsters are offering One Direction e-tickets on Twitter to victims who are unaware that they are buying fakes.
Fraudsters are selling the e-tickets for around £50 to see the band perform later in the year at The O2. The tickets have a face value of £65 + service charge and sell for around £200 on secondary websites.
Original tickets are usually photocopied and sold on over and over again by fraudsters. 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 on the Lookout for telephone numbers starting 070 or 004470. These can be set-up on the Internet and answered anywhere in the world.
- Always check sellers’ privacy policy and returns policy.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
You can now also 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.
