CONCERT-goers who are hoping to grab some last-minute tickets to any of the upcoming local festivals are being urged to be aware of ticketing scams.
Reading Festival Weekend and Saturday tickets have completely sold out, which could lead some disappointed fans to try to buy tickets from sources other than official websites.
However, online fraud prevention service Get Safe Online warns that one in ten people in the UK have been victims of a ticketing scam online, paying for tickets that do not exist, being refused entry to an event or revealing their payment card details to an identity thief or fraudster.
Get Safe Online offers these helpful tips to ensure you do not become the victim of fraud when buying tickets online.
- Buy tickets only from the venue box office, promoter, official agent or reputable ticket exchange sites.
- Remember that paying by credit card offers greater protection than with other methods in terms of fraud, guarantees and non-delivery.
- Double check all details of your ticket purchase before confirming payment.
- Do not reply to unsolicited emails from sellers you don’t recognise.
- Before entering payment card details on a website, ensure that the link is secure, in three ways:
- There should be a padlock symbol in the browser window frame, which appears when you attempt to log in or register. Be sure that the padlock is not on the page itself … this will probably indicate a fraudulent site.
- The web address should begin with ‘https://’. The ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’.
- If using the latest version of your browser, the address bar or the name of the site owner will turn green.
- Some websites will redirect you to a third-party payment service (such as WorldPay). Ensure that these sites are secure before you make your payment.
- Safeguard and remember the password you have chosen for the extra verification services used on some websites, such as Verified by Visa.
- In the event that you choose to buy tickets from an individual (for example on eBay), never transfer the money directly into their bank account but use a secure payment site such as PayPal, where money is transferred between two electronic accounts.
- Check sellers’ privacy policy and returns policy.
- Always log out of sites into which you have logged in or registered details. Simply closing your browser is not enough to ensure privacy.
- Keep receipts.
- Check credit card and bank statements carefully after ticket purchase to ensure that the correct amount has been debited, and also that no fraud has taken place as a result of the transaction.
- Ensure you have effective and updated antivirus/antispyware software and firewall running before you go online.
If you think you have been a victim of fraud: Report it to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre by calling 0300 123 20 40 or by visitng www.actionfraud.police.uk.
