Scammers target Groovin’ The Moo Bunbury attendees

Some of the 20,000 attending Groovin’ The Moo’s show onSunday in Bunbury, in south-western WA, were targeted by scam merchants.

ABC Radio reported that one operator falsely advertised people’s homes as holiday accommodation.

One of thee was the Gelmi family's four-bedroom house. They discovered the scam when two groups of people from Perth arrived after having shelled out hundreds of dollars.

"We were just so shocked," Kerry Gelmi told the broadcaster. "We had no idea up until that point that our house had been advertised." The family generously provided makeshift bedrooms as best they could, as all other accommodation in Bunbury was sold out.

After the groups paid out hundreds of dollars, the person behind the ad stopped all contact. They called police who are chasing up through the bank account provided in the ad but said little may be done as the scammer could have been based overseas.

Groovin’ The Moo Bunbury’s sold-out status also meant that scalpers were asking for three times the ticket prices.

The concert included Hilltop Hoods, Wolfmother, San Cisco, Peaches, Ball Park Music, Meg Mac, Hermitude, Northlane and A$AP Ferg.

Police reported that 36 people were charged with possessing drugs and eight with intent to sell or supply.

This weekend, the festival heads to Bendigo (sold out) and Canberra, before heading up to Maitland NSW on Saturday May 9. Maitland has suffered severe flooding and storms, with more wild weather expected. But promoters confirmed the sold-out event would still go ahead. The tour ends in Townsville in Queensland on Sunday May 10.