Scalpers Are Making Over $4 Million Per Month on Fake Tickets

, which means scalpers are out to make all the dough they can get their hands on, according to Pollstar.Second-hand ticket retailer Viagogo has released information that scam artists that have been selling fake tickets are collectively reeling in just over $4 million a month and just over $49 million a year.Viagogo...

By Lenni Rosenblum

March 23, 2011

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, which means scalpers are out to make all the dough they can get their hands on, according to Pollstar.

Second-hand ticket retailer Viagogo has released information that scam artists that have been selling fake tickets are collectively reeling in just over $4 million a month and just over $49 million a year.

Viagogo found that more than 67,000 fake music festival tickets were sold last year. Estimates show that those figures could reach 100,000 fake festival passes in 2011. Most of the scamming happens during the summertime, which is the most popular season for concerts.

Although concertgoers at British festivals are the main target -- particularly Glastonbury and the V Festivals -- I saw girls at Coachella last year get denied at the gate of the concert grounds after they paid some schmuck $400 cash for a wristband that didn't end up working. Consequently, many tears were shed; no surprises there.

While some websites may supply you with physical fraudulent tickets, others might never send you tickets at all. Those sites exist so that the site's operators can steal credit card information. Fighting the fraud is simple. In order to guarantee that a ticket is authentic, avoid buying tickets through secondhand online retailers and don't even buy secondhand tickets from anyone in person.

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