THE grunts of fans behind him trying to get to their seats as Samson Dada tried to scan his ticket at Stamford Bridge ground in west London.
“I could feel their annoyance as I tried and tried, but the turnstile remained firmly shut. I was so embarrassed. ’ said the 32-year-old year old media relations strategist.
Then a steward stepped in and asked where he had got the ticket from. He quickly told him that it was fake.
“I felt awful. Not only had I bought a fake ticket but three of my friends were supposed to be coming too.
“The steward told me that it looked genuine but you could see on the barcode where they had reprinted it as it faded away.”
“I felt like a complete idiot and I blamed myself. The tickets were below market value and I did not stop to think that it looked too good to be true.
“I was seething with anger and I felt a sense of shame. This experience damaged my self-esteem for a while and left me quite depressed.
“I do not think that I could have gotten through this without the support of my friends.”
Earlier that week, Samson could not believe his luck when he found four tickets in hospitality for £2,000 to Chelsea v Barcelona’s Champions League match in early 2018.
But now he was one of millions of victims of ticket fraud, in fact over £6.7million was lost last year, according to Action Fraud.
Unfortunately, the seller has used a fake name and cut off all contact with Samson.
As he had paid via bank transfer he was unable to get back the cash.
Purchases on credit card and debit card are protected under consumer law, so they are a safer way of paying for tickets if you’re worried about scams.
For example, if you spend over £100 (but under £30,000) on a credit card then they are protected under Section 71 law.
Whereas if you pay using a debit card you can ask your bank to do a ‘chargeback’ if the goods you buy don’t turn up.
How to report scams
If you think you have been a victim of a scam, you should report it as soon as possible.
There is no guarantee you’ll get your money back, but banks will often compensate you if you can show you did not know the money would leave your account.
You can forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
If you notice a website that doesn’t look quite right, you can also report it to the National Cyber Security Centre by visiting www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-this-website/report-scam-website.
You should also contact your provider and report it to Action Fraud, which will give you a crime reference number.
You can do this online by visiting actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
THE RED FLAGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
EXPERTS reveal the red flags you need to look out for from scammers:
Jonathan Brown, from The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers said:
- Only purchase tickets from authorised ticket suppliers
Vonny Gamot, from McAfee, said:
- Crooks will play on emotions by creating a sense of urgency to trick you into making a snap decision, such as a one-day discount
Lauren Hendry Parsons, from ExpressVPN, the privacy and security software provider, said:
- Genuine ticket sites will include basic information like terms and conditions and a privacy policy
- Watch out for limited contact details, like a random email address instead of a corporate one, or if there is no registered address or just a fill in contact form
- If they only use limited payment methods such as bank transfer or PayPal, then they are likely to be fake
- Look for the secure key at the beginning of the website address in your browser window
- Use a credit card for extra protection rather than a bank transfer. Purchases over £100 are protected under Section 75 of the consumer credit act, so if the item does not arrive or is fake you should get your money back
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is