Festivals Fight Fraudsters

Two of the UK’s biggest festival promoters are trying an idea that may help protect people from fraudulent ticket websites.

Live Nation and Festival Republic, which is co-owned by LN and Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments, will send out tickets as soon as possible, rather than wait until just before the show date.

“We believe that would stop a lot of people being the victims because we’d be able to act on it quicker, convicting the kind of people we want to convict,” detective chief superintendent Steve Head from the City of London Police told BBC News.

Many ticket sellers have delayed sending out tickets because it limits the time that fraudsters have to copy them, but now the police believe that practice is actually making it harder for them to uncover ticket scams.

The unintended consequence of delaying the mail out of tickets is that tens of thousands of people who’ve bought them from fake sites haven’t discovered they’ve been a victim of fraud until it’s too late.

The fraudsters’ websites often disappear soon after claiming to have been let down by a supplier or simply going bust.

The National Fraud Authority reckons ticket scams are costing the public about £168 million per year.

Live Nation promotes the UK’s Download Festival and also the Wireless and Hard Rock Calling festivals in London’s Hyde Park.

Festival Republic’s British outdoors include Reading, Leeds, Latitude, and The Big Chill.