Festivals across Norway target of ticket fraud

Festival.Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

Festivals across Norway report of major ticket fraud

Major festivals have received hundreds of reports of ticket fraud and attempted fraud. Many who possess fake tickets are left standing outside the festival fences.

 

NRK has been in contact with the Øyafestivalen, Trevarefest, Palmesus and Vinjerock, which all report that they have experienced a lot of ticket scams this summer.

– We received at least 50 reports and inquiries regarding fraud. Half of these have been scammed, while the rest reports of attempted fraud, says Sales Manager for Vinjerock, Carl Frithjof Tidemand-Johannessen.

Next week, Øyafestivalen starts in Oslo. PR chief and Co-ordinator, Jonas Prangerød, says that they uncover between 100 and 200 falsified tickets annually.

– Already early in the summer, we got a fair amount of inquiries regarding scams. I react to that the summer started off with so many. I’ve also seen a lot of it in social media, Prangerød says.

No statistics

Head of the department and prosecutor at the Economic Crime Unit (Økokrim), Anna Haugmoen Mo, say that the money you spend on fake tickets will most likely be lost even if the matter is reported to the police.

– We do not have any statistics on it, but in the summer we see a surge in ticket fraud, she tells NRK.

Earlier this summer, several media wrote about a 23-years-old man from Sandnes, who was investigated for the sale of tens of festival passes that he did not possess, to the Palmesus festival in Kristiansand.

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today