UK fans lose £1.2m in six months to ticket fraud

Fans of Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift were among music and sports followers who lost more than £1.2 million (Australian $2.5 million) to ticket fraud in the last six months, police figures revealed.

According to national fraud and internet crime reporting centre Action Fraud, 2,885 cases were reported between May and October. Each lost an average of £444 ($923) per transactions.

But Reg Walker who heads Iridium Consultancy, told the BBC the number of victims was much higher, and put the “true figure” at tens of millions. He contends that ticket fraud is “massively under-reported” because many victims did not contact police after receiving refunds from their credit card companies.

Action Fraud agreed: “Reported ticketing fraud losses run into millions of pounds, but the reality is the true scale of the problem is likely to be much greater.”

It added: “We would urge anyone who loses money to a ticketing fraud to report to Action Fraud so we can understand the true nature and scale of the problem and police forces can track down those most responsible.”

Two companies have been suspended on the recommendation of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. CircleTickets advertised concerts by Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac and Foo Fighters. Getsporting.com was accused of selling fake Rugby World Cup tickets. Both face police investigation.

Police said that many victims were from overseas. One concert by One Direction alone had 40 victims. Included a 19 year old who travelled from Italy with two others and arrived at the UK concert to find her tickets invalid.

In response to Action Fraud’s report, the Society of Ticket Agents & Retailers (STAR), which represents primary ticket sellers, launched a Christmas safety campaign. It urges fans to be vigilant as to where to buy tickets.

STAR CEO Jonathan Brown acknowledged that “The UK ticketing industry has rapidly changed in recent years and today’s consumers expect greater levels of choice and protection.”

STAR stressed that consumers look for their kitemark – a padlock with a star in the centre – to verify a ticket seller was a STAR member who had signed to its code of conduct which ensures a level of consumer protection.

Brown added, “To increase clarity for ticket buyers, STAR will therefore develop standards of best practice to which we hope resale businesses that take consumer protection seriously will subscribe.”

The campaign is backed by the Concert Promoters Association (CPA), the National Arenas Association (NAA), the Musicians’ Union and the Society of London Theatre, as well as ticket agents, artists and venues.

The Action Fraud report also put the spotlight on secondary ticket sites. The live music industry had been (again) seething about these in recent weeks. £182 ($378) tickets to U2’s London shows were advertised for up to £3,300 ($6860) on resale sites. Prince pulled a European tour when he found tickets on these sites (the tour was later cancelled after the Paris shootings).

Major promoter Harvey Goldsmith called these sites “a national disgrace”. He wants the Government to pass a law prohibiting tickets from being resold at over 10% of face value. The Government earlier this year announced it would pass legislation to protect consumers from fraud, and is running a public consultation.

Consumer magazine Which? also asked for a crackdown on these sites, saying fans face a “stitch-up”. It had monitored four of the major resellers over eight weeks and found “some really unusual behaviour”. These included tickets appearing on sites before they were officially released, or appearing simultaneously on primary websites after release. Promoters said when they queried such behaviour from reseller sites, their operators simply disappeared.