£92,000 lost to ticket fraud in Wiltshire last year
Police say they dealt with 73 incidents and we're warned to be wary
Nearly £92,000 was scammed out of people in Wiltshire last year, through ticket fraud incidents.
Police say they had 73 incidents reported to them during 2023, and they're asking us to be 'on our guard'.
Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, has launched a ticket fraud awareness campaign, warning people to be alert to fraudsters trying to catch out people planning for popular and sold-out events.
Detective Constable Fraud Protect Officer for Wiltshire, Rachel Davies said:
"Please check the contact details of the site you are buying the tickets from. It is worth making contact via the company’s telephone to confirm address and that you are buying from a genuine site.”
Pauline Smith, Head of Action Fraud, said:
“We all want to enjoy ticketed events this summer, but that doesn’t stop fraudsters from taking the fun out things we look forward to doing. Too many people are losing out to fraudulent activity or genuine looking phishing messages.
“Make sure you don’t get ticked off – recognise the signs of ticket fraud before getting caught out. Remember to be wary of unsolicited messages offering deals too good to be true.”
Of the reports made to Action Fraud last year, 34% (2,993) mentioned concert tickets, 29% (2,523) mentioned travel and 18% (1,561) mentioned sporting events.
How to protect yourself from ticket fraud:
- Only buy tickets from the venue’s box office, the promoter, an official agent or a well-known and reputable ticket exchange site.
- Avoid paying for tickets by bank transfer, especially if buying from someone unknown. Credit card or payment services such as PayPal give you a better chance of recovering the money if you become a victim of fraud.
- The password you use for your email account, as well as any other accounts you use to purchase tickets, should be different from all your other passwords. Use three random words to create a strong and memorable password, and enable 2-step verification (2SV).
- Be wary of unsolicited emails, texts or adverts offering unbelievably good deals on tickets.
- Is the vendor a member of Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR)? If they are, the company has signed up to their strict governing standards. STAR also offers an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service to help customers with outstanding complaints.
Fraudsters often create fake ticket retail companies, with victims lured in using social media or phishing emails, with offers of the chance to buy tickets to a popular event, but instead take in personal information or money, with no tickets received in return.
Phishing messages often look real, but instead will either steal your information or divert to malicious websites which can infect your computer with malware.
If you feel at all suspicious, report the email to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk.
If you have been a victim of fraud or cybercrime, report it at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.