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£1.3 million lost to ticket fraud in just six months, says new report
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 24 November 2015
The Society Of Ticket Agents & Retailers, which represents primary ticket sellers (and maybe, one day, secondary sellers too), has launched a new campaign called #lookfortheSTAR to raise awareness of its kitemark programme that identifies its members, all of whom sign up to a code of conduct that ensures certain levels of consumer protection.
The campaign coincides with a new report from Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre, which reckons that £1.3 million was lost to ticket fraud in the six months up to October this year. This specifically relates to tickets for sports and entertainment events and is based on 2885 reported cases of fraud.
STAR wants to educate people to only buy tickets from its members’ websites, and therefore to look out for the organisation’s kitemark when making purchases. Action Fraud, the Metropolitan Police and the City Of London Police are all backing the initiative, as are trade groups like the Concert Promoters Association, the Musicians’ Union, the National Arenas Association and the Society Of London Theatre, plus an assortment of venues, promoters and, of course, STAR-affiliated ticketing firms.
The newly appointed Chairman of STAR, Adrian Sanders, told reporters: “As well as cheating the consumer, every case of fraud damages the reputation of Britain’s vital entertainment and sporting industries. Buying tickets from a STAR kitemarked seller will give consumers the confidence that their purchase comes with certain guarantees that protect their rights”.
Meanwhile Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fyfe of the City Of London Police and Action Fraud added: “Buying tickets for major entertainment events takes a lot of planning and organisation and can cost a lot of money. So when people discover they have fallen victim to a fraud – be it through purchasing tickets that either don’t exist or turn out to be counterfeit – it can be a devastating experience”.
He went on: “The key to making sure you don’t fall victim to this crime is to only use authorised sellers and if you have any doubts about the website check out the reviews online. And when it comes to making a purchase always use a payment card and never transfer the funds directly into another bank account”.
STAR’s campaign to raise awareness of potential ticket fraud online follows the closure last week of the government’s latest consultation on secondary ticketing, which has heightened debate around online touting in the music community.
Of course, the main ticket resale sites – although not currently members of STAR – insist that they provide similar consumer protection to the primary agents affiliated with that body, and that is one of the reasons not to step up the regulation of their operations. The argument goes that heavy regulation of the likes Viagogo and StubHub would drive touts to sites outside the UK to operations where consumers get less protection, and therefore are more likely to be the victims of fraud.
