Other scams

Scammers target people who are looking for tickets for a concert, show, or sporting event. Scams are more common now as there is high demand for events and many people may be unable to secure tickets.

Ticket scams happen when someone is fooled into buying a ticket that is fake or does not exist. Here are the main ways you can fall victim to a ticket scam:

• Duplicate ticket sales
  In this scam, the same ticket is sold multiple times to different buyers. The first person to arrive at the event gets in but the others are turned away.

• Fake ticket sales
  If the website you’re using is fraudulent, a false ‘error’ message will pop up saying there was a problem with your payment. You may get asked to pay again and end up being charged twice for tickets that do not exist. You should be careful of the sites you visit to buy tickets. If you see an unfamiliar advertisement that appears to sell tickets to an event or an email/text with a link, do not click on it.

• Social media scams
  Many people advertise tickets they no longer need on their social media channels. Scammers take advantage of this reality by creating fake accounts and pretending to sell legitimate tickets. They will block you as soon as you’ve sent payment to them.

Signs it’s a ticket scam

There are certain giveaway signs that that ticket you’re after may be a scam:

• tickets made available prior to sale – if a site is selling tickets before other official sites, it’s likely a fake site
• event is ‘sold out’ – official sites say the tickets are gone but the site you’ve visited tells you it has tickets available
• low-priced tickets –the price being asked is cheaper than you would expect. If it seems too good to be true it probably is

Buy from an official source

You should always buy tickets from a legitimate source, in person or online. Check directly with the organiser, promoter or venue when and where you can buy tickets. Tickets are usually sold through a limited number of official channels for big events. Read reviews of the website to see if other people have had a bad experience with them.

Never pay for a ticket by cash or money transfer. You will not be able to recall or trace this payment if you run into problems. Use your debit or credit card instead, this allows you to request a chargeback if things go wrong.

When buying products or services online, you should be wary of any offers asking you to subscribe. Scammers set up fake websites or profiles and promise you a discounted offer that seems too good to be true. It is easy to get lured into a subscription trap for something you do not really want.

Subscription trap

A subscription trap is a scam that uses attractive offers to cheat consumers out of their money. It takes place online when you sign up for free or low-cost trials of a particular product or service. The kind of products advertised falsely promise to solve a range of health, beauty and/or cosmetic issues that affect people. After signing up, you then find out that you have been unwittingly locked into costly repeat payments.

The scammer will request your payment card details as proof of identity and use this to draw monthly payments from your account. You will not be aware that the subscription automatically rolls over into a new subscription once it expires. A fraudulent online trap will hide the fact that taking up the offer leads to a subscription with recurring payments.

Cancelling your subscription

If you find that payments are still going out of your account after cancelling your subscription, ask your bank about a chargeback. Your bank might be able to reverse any payments that went out. If you have not been able to contact the business and cancel the subscription, your only option may be to cancel your bank card altogether and get a new one.

Avoid a subscription scam

You can take actions to prevent getting scammed into a subscription trap:

• read the small print thoroughly. The terms and conditions should state the duration of the free subscription and if it will be converted automatically to a paid subscription
• check that the terms and conditions box has not already been pre-ticked
• keep an eye out for bogus testimonials and reviews – scammers use these to make the products and treatments they advertise seem legitimate
• never provide your bank or card details to a business without researching their legitimacy – know exactly which business is trying to sign you up
• check their official website to make sure it’s the same business so that you’re not being taken to a false website
• if you sign up to a subscription that says you’ve a limited timescale to cancel it, make sure you do so before the due date if you don’t want to continue
•  find out what happens when the trial period ends. Will you need to contact the supplier to cancel a subscription? Will it roll over if you don’t cancel it?
• check your bank statements regularly for any change to the status of your subscriptions – it’s common for scammers to switch your free-trial subscription to the paid for version without informing you.

Never sign up for any free/low cost trials of medication, drugs or so called ‘miracle cure’ treatments no matter how fantastic the offer seems. You could receive a product that does not match what’s advertised and potentially damage your health. Ask your doctor where medication is involved.

A romance scam happens when someone you’ve formed an online relationship with, tricks you into sending them money. Even though both of you have never met in real life, the online relationship seems real and convincing.

The romantic scammer typically tells you they cannot wait to meet in person and might say they live in another country. They’ll use this as their reason to delay meeting you in person so they can continue to manipulate you online. Their dating profile and photos will typically be fake. Once trust is established, the scammer comes up with a reason for needing money.

They might ask you to:

• send them money to pay for medical bills, for a sick parent for example
• pay for travel costs so they can fly over to meet you
• help them fund a business scheme or idea they have

By now, you will have built up large degree of trust online and feel like you know this person so it can be hard to refuse their plea for help. You may have formed an emotional attachment with them believing it’s a relationship and this can make it hard to say no.

Protect yourself

There are ways to guard yourself against these scams. Here are the essential do’s and don’ts to remember:

Cryptocurrency (Crypto) is a type of electronic money or digital currency. It can be used to pay for goods and services from people and businesses that accept cryptocurrencies. There are no physical notes or coins, only digital records of transactions. Most people buy cryptocurrency as an investment.

Learn more about crypto.

The most common cryptocurrency scams are:

Fake celebrity endorsements

Scammers pretend to be a celebrity advertising crypto on social media or a reputable website. The ad will promise their followers high returns on their investment. For example, asking their followers to take part in a giveaway scheme for free cryptocurrency. The offer will prompt you to click on a link and share your details.

Wallet hacks

The scammer will try to get information that gives them access to your digital wallet. This is usually done by accessing documents on your laptop, emails or cloud storage services.

Scammers can trick users into believing they’re using a legitimate digital wallet to store their assets. Users are asked to enter their private keys and the scammers use those private keys to empty the crypto holdings. Fake wallet apps can be promoted through phishing emails or may copy other mobile apps in the play store.

Fake coin offerings

The purpose of an initial coin offering (ICO) is to release a new cryptocurrency to the public for the first time. The expectation is that the coin’s developers will use the proceeds to support the cryptocurrency network. It is a way of crowdfunding the launch of new currencies or businesses.

An ICO may appear to be legitimate, but it has none of the supporting technology. It’s ’s like launching a coin that exists in name only. A fake ICO ends with the developers vanishing with the ICO proceed. An ICO is a way of crowdfunding the launch of new currencies or companies. ICOs are not regulated.

Crypto Ponzi scheme

A crypto Ponzi scheme offers high returns by using capital from new investors to pay the promised gains. Just like traditional Ponzi schemes, crypto Ponzi schemes trick investors into believing that legitimate activities are driving investment returns.