Darwin victim warns ticket scam still active

A MALAK man is warning music fans to be wary when purchasing tickets online after being ripped off more than $300 from a scam website.

When attempting to purchase tickets to the Grinspoon gig in late July, Geoff Smith said he found himself the victim of the notorious sham ticket reseller site Viagogo, which pressured him into buying tickets with high-intensity sales techniques.

“They’re absolute bastards and if I find out who they are I’ll take a baseball bat to them,” he said.

“They charged $157 each for $68 tickets and I was stupid enough to go along with it … I followed the links and the next minute my account’s been debited $471.”

Mr Smith said he only had an email as evidence of the purchase – and no e-tickets – and was lucky to be let into the concert by an understanding worker.

Mr Smith said it wasn’t usually him buying the tickets and he didn’t realise he’d been duped until it was too late.

The website tricks buyers GEOFF SMITH MALAK RESIDENT into thinking they are in long lines for tickets and that there are only limited tickets available.

According to the Australian Competition Consumer Commission’s ScamWatch, online scams are costing Australians $300 million a year, including fake tickets to entertainment events.

Promoter Russell Temple said the sham website had tricked people into paying massively inflated costs for tickets to Grinspoon.

He said their tactic of flagging “only limited tickets available” meant many people thought the event was sold out and didn’t try to find legitimate tickets.

“Hundreds of people who were intending to attend One Tropical Day featuring Grinspoon ... were left believing the event was sold out due to the activities of Viagogo,” he said

“Viagogo are not legal ticket retailers. They target the public to buy tickets through them by ‘buying’ their way to the top of the Google listing for a particular artist or event.”

Live Performance Australia released a Safe Tix Guide on Tuesday to educate consumers on the safest way to purchase tickets.

The guide advises paying for tickets with a credit or debit card for added protection, and explains what to look for before buying.

“They charged $157 each for $68 tickets and I was stupid enough to go along with it”