Beware of scammers selling duplicate tickets on online classified sites
Deals can be steals in disguise
RCMP are warning people to be cautious about buying tickets to the Cavendish Beach Music Festival posted for sale on classified websites, such as Kijiji. The Mounties are investigating a case of fraud in P.E.I. involving tickets being resold online to this year’s annual festival. Another scam involves fraudsters selling campground sites that don’t exist.
How this scam works
A private, online seller posts an ad for tickets to the popular summer festival or a booked campsite at a reduced cost or best offer. Money is exchanged and the tickets are sent to the buyer electronically. However, the seller is selling the same electronic ticket multiple times. In the P.E.I. case, the tickets were never sent. In the campsite scam, the money is transferred, but the campsite booking is fake.
How you should protect yourself?
The best way to avoid these scams is to be aware of them in the first place. The RCMP also recommend asking for a copy of the seller’s identification should the tickets prove to be duplicates or having the seller transfer the tickets into the buyer’s name.