Protect yourself from ticket fraud ahead of Olympics Games this summer

With the 2016 Summer Olympics just around the corner, police are offering advice to keep sports fans safe from online ticket fraud.

Ticket sales for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games will soon be on sale ahead of the competition in August; however fraudsters are likely to take advantage of this by posing as official sellers.

Purchasing tickets from an unauthorised seller or a ticket tout could leave you out of pocket. Not only are the tickets advertised at inflated prices, there is also the risk that the tickets purchased are counterfeit or do not exist, seeing those with a counterfeit ticket being refused entry.

In order to stamp out ticket fraud, a list of authorised sellers has been published on the official Olympic website and provides a list of trusted resellers; this can be found at www.rio2016.com.

Police are urging anyone who is looking to sell their ticket to do so through the Rio 2016 website for a 100 per cent reimbursement of the amount paid.

Top tips to buying tickets safely online include:

When purchasing from another company or individual, ask questions; specifically when you will receive the ticket and what type of ticket you are purchasing.

Pay for tickets by using a credit card or trusted payment service. Payments made by bank transfer may not be recoverable.

Always check that the payment screen is secure by looking for the padlock symbol or making sure the website/url begins with “https”.

If you have been affected by this, or any other scam, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

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