ComCom warns of Rugby World Cup ticket scams
Rugby fans are being warned to watch out for fake tickets to next year's Rugby World Cup after an Irish fan paid thousands of dollars to a website claiming to offer tickets to the event.
Rugby fans around the world are being urged to take care when purchasing tickets for Rugby World Cup 2011 as a result of a number of fraudulent and deceptive websites claiming to offer tournament tickets.
The warning comes after an Irish fan was left ticketless after paying thousands of dollars to a website that claimed to sell tickets to the event.
The Commerce Commission says it is working in close collaboration with members of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) and Rugby World Cup Limited to combat such scams and alert fans.
Rugby World Cup Limited managing director Mike Miller has welcomed action by the global network to crack down on fraudsters.
“We really appreciate the initiative of ICPEN in helping protect consumers from fraudulent and deceptive sales of Rugby World Cup 2011 tickets.
“We all have the common aim of protecting fans from around the world who simply want to enjoy rugby’s showcase event,” said Mr Miller.
Commerce Commission Enforcement Branch manager Greg Allan said that big events such as the Rugby World Cup are irresistible to rip-off merchants and the global nature of the internet makes it easy for fraudsters to target consumers across borders.
“This makes international cooperation critical to identify these sites, warn consumers, and close down scam activity where possible,” said Mr Allan.
“Many of these scammers have sophisticated sites and systems in place and trick consumers into believing that they are dealing with authorised ticket sellers. The worst case scenario here is that people travel all the way to New Zealand to discover their tickets aren’t valid for any of the tournament matches,” said Mr Allan.
The official Rugby World Cup 2011 ticketing website is rugbyworldcup.com.
Niko Kloeten
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
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ComCom warns of Rugby World Cup ticket scams
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