As festival season continues and ahead of huge tours from Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Bon Jovi, gig goers are advised to take caution over last-minute tickets for sale on social media.
The government and O2 have teamed up to urge the public to Stop! Think Fraud and to always use official ticketing websites, News Cover reports, citing the UK government's official website.
This comes as new research by O2 reveals the amount lost to ticket fraud in the last year reached £150 million.
Ticket fraud occurs when you buy tickets from a website or social media platform, but the tickets either don’t arrive or turn out to be fake.
The data shows that more than one in 10 (14%) of gig goers surveyed have bought a fake ticket with over three-quarters (77%) of the tickets bought via online platforms.
The polling found that no age group was immune to these scams, but those aged 18 to 24 faced the highest risk with 31% having been sold a fake ticket compared to 4% of those aged 55+.
The government delivered £250 million of investment to crackdown on fraud and protect the public earlier this year, as part of a new Fraud strategy It established a new Online Crime Centre to bring together police and industry to disrupt scams at source and boost support for victims.
As part of this national intervention, the Stop! Think Fraud campaign aims to make it easier for the public to recognise fraud and take steps to protect themselves, their family and friends.
O2, which sponsors 21 venues across the UK and sold more than 1.7 million tickets via Priority Tickets last year, has campaigned alongside FanFair Alliance since 2017 for a fairer and more transparent ticketing market.
Last year, O2 launched Stamp It Tout, an online hub designed to help music fans navigate the resale market safely and avoid being ripped off by ticket touts and scammers.
The government remains fully committed to stamping out ticket touting for good. For too long, fans have been ripped off and we’re determined to right that wrong.
Plans have been announced to make it illegal for tickets to live events to be resold for more than their original cost, which will eliminate the scourge of industrial-scale ticket touting.
The government is taking the time to get this right by bringing forward draft legislation to ensure that our measures are truly effective, enforceable and future-proof, and fans get the protection and security they have always deserved.
