Festival fans trying to bag a ticket for Glastonbury next year should be vigilant of scammers, a bank warns.
The first batch of passes for the iconic music event next June was sold on Thursday evening, with more released for music lovers on Sunday at 9am.
All of the coach and festival tickets were sold out in under half an hour, and the same happened again when the second chance to secure one of the 135,000 tickets began.
With that in mind, disappointed fans who’ve missed out on a chance to go to Shepton Mallet shouldn’t be tempted by tickets sold from an unofficial source online.
Expert teams working ’round the clock’ to quash fraudsters
HSBC has urged fans who are desperate to attend the event to be aware of potential ‘purchase scams’ – where con artists sell goods such as tickets online that subsequently never arrive. The warning comes after a recent Barclays study which found 88% of all purchase scams occurred on social media.
David Callington, HSBC UK’s head of fraud said: “Scammers are devious criminals who are well versed in tuning in to these events to steal money from innocent consumers looking for tickets at a bargain price. But, if someone tries to buy a ticket from an unofficial source, there’s a good chance they will lose their money.”
Callington added: “We have expert teams working around the clock to identify suspicious transactions, but people can also help protect themselves by taking note of fraud warnings when making payments, and keeping up to date with the latest scam warnings which are highlighted on our latest phishing and social media scams web page or through our Fraud and Cyber Awareness app (on both Android and iOS).”
The high-street bank has provided five tips to look out for when buying tickets for gigs.
Tips to avoid being stung by scammers
- Buy tickets only from the venue’s box office, official sellers or reputable fan sites
- Don’t click on social media, text or email links or attachments offering tickets, as they could link to fraudulent or malware sites
- Avoid paying for tickets via bank transfer
- Check sellers’ privacy and returns policies
- Keep receipts until after the event
