Festivals, sports events and other big events attract a lot of attention and a lot of people wanting to visit and usually find accommodation as well Scammers can see these people as easy targets and target them with specific adverts for a popular event of any kind. .

This is most common with the huge events such as World Cup football but also applies to smaller events such as niche music festivals.

The scammers sometimes go to the trouble of creating realistic looking websites, advertising campaigns etc.

Action Fraud estimate that  people are losing more than £1.6 million per year to the perpetrators of these scams. The fraudsters may sell fake tickets, fake travel arrangements, fake accommodation or all of these things.

If you’re travelling to a big sports event or festival etc. make very sure that the tickets you buy are valid. It would be sad to arrive at the event only to discover your bargain price tickets were fake and you’d wasted your time and money.

If you have been caught out by this scam – do let me know, by email.