Force encourages festival goers to Get Safe Online

City of London Police is warning Internet users and music lovers to be on their guard against sophisticated online scammers.

The force is helping Get Safe Online, the UK’s national Internet security initiative, to launch its new national campaign. Research by Get Safe Online, shows over 1 in 10 people (or their friends and family) have been a victim of a ticketing scam online [1].

During the summer months cyber gangs are particularly active, aiming to con unsuspecting music fans out of money for fake tickets.

Some top tips for music fans when buying online include:

• Pay for the ticket with a credit card if possible – this means you are more likely to get your money back should you be scammed
• Ensure the ticketing site you are using is genuine can be very hard as criminals often spend lots of money designing professional looking sites.
• Check on the band or venue website and see who their authorised sellers are. This is the best way to avoid scam sites.

As the national lead force for fraud the City of London Police has recently launched an investigation into a major ticket fraud, arresting a man linked to a site that it believes was selling non-existent ‘Take That’ tickets.

Det Ch Supt Steve Head who runs the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Directorate, said: “We are talking about big business here. These scams are not street touts moving online – they are websites run by organised crime gangs who are making millions of pounds.

Managing director of GetSafeOnline.org Tony Neate adds: “It’s critical that consumers are on their guard when purchasing tickets. We are urging internet users to check with the event organisers for a list of legitimate ticket selling websites before parting with their money online.”

City of London Police’s DI James Clancey has been warning music fans about what to look for to avoid online scammers. You can find out more about this on his blog. 

For more information and advice on how to guard against online fraud and other Internet crime, visit the Get Safe Online website

To report online fraud, please contact Action Fraud. 

[1] Figures are taken from a Get Safe Online survey, independently carried out by ICM Research in June 2011. The survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,000 GB adults aged 18+ via CATI

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