Festival scam ticket situation 'far better' than last summer

UK festival chiefs and police are claiming that their crackdowns on scam festival ticket sellers have resulted in fewer fans being conned this summer compared to last.

Last year thousands of would-be festivalgoers were left disappointed when they paid for tickets through unofficial event websites - only to end up with either counterfeit tickets or no tickets at all.

Many of the fans were attempting to buy tickets for last year's Reading And Leeds Festivals and the V Festival - which both take place again later this month.

Police and organisers conducted a crackdown on scam sites, with the Metropolitan Police's Central E-crime Unit successfully closing 11 sites since last September, reports BBC News.

Melvin Benn, head of Festival Republic, which organises the Reading And Leeds Festivals, said: "The main culprits do appear to have been closed down by the police."

Benn explained that last year around 5,000 fans were turned away from the events because their tickets were not valid.

DCI Charlie McMurdie of the Central E-crime Unit confirmed that the crackdown was the result of thousands of complaints from fans being noted. "Our activity has been in order to prevent the public becoming victims of crime, and make the internet a safe place to trade online for the UK," he said.

Reg Walker, an anti-counterfeiting expert who advises organisers of many UK festivals, noted the change, and said the situation was "far better".

He explained: "This year, everyone's come together to address the issue for the first time ever - the promoters, the police etc. We're managing to get down the scam sites much faster than ever before, and the criminal infrastructure is being dismantled."