Scams involving event tickets are not uncommon during Denmark’s summer music festival season, the country’s digital authority has warned.
Denmark’s Agency for Digital Government (Digitaliseringsstyrelsen) has urged anyone hoping to pick up a festival ticket at short notice to “be critical” when purchasing passes online.
In a press release, the agency outlined what it calls “simple advice” to help consumers avoid losing money on shady festival tickets.
The NorthSide festival in Aarhus kickstarts Denmark’s summer festival season on 6th-8th June, followed shortly afterwards by the Heartland festival at Egeskov on the island of Funen, both from June 13th to June 14th.
For lovers of hard rock and metal the Copenhell festival from June 19th to June 22nd is not to be missed.
Then, for the weekend of June 27th-29th, the festivities move back across the Great Belt Bridge for the Tinderbox Festival in Odense on Funen.
The month of music then culminates with Denmark’s oldest and largest music festival, Roskilde, between June 29th and July 6th, although arguably all the biggest days are in July.
Several of these festivals have already sold out of either one-day tickets or “partout” tickets that provide passes to the entire event.
That means tickets are now being sought on social media and other resale platforms, the digital agency writes.
“We’ve collected some good pieces of advice that will help members of the public to spot ticket sharks and prevent a good summer with friends and music from becoming a disappointing summer when scammers make off with your money and good mood,” Agency for Digital Government deputy director Lars Bønløkke Lé said in the statement.
“Scammers don’t go on holiday and festival ticket sales are also an opportunity they try to capitalise on,” he said.
Four specific actions can greatly reduce the risk of getting scammed according to the agency.
These are:
- Purchase tickets from official vendors only. Use their waiting lists if the tickets are sold out.
- Be cautious about any offers you receive if you request a particular ticket in a social media post or ad, as these can attract scams.
- A ticket set at a price far cheaper than can be found anywhere else is a sign of a possible scam.
- If using Danish payment app MobilePay, you can check that the seller’s name appears on the payee MobilePay account before confirming your payment. You can then check that this name matches the name of the person or organisation from which you have agreed to buy the ticket. A discrepancy should raise a red flag. Similarly, if the seller unexpectedly asks you to send the money to an account other than their own, they are likely to be attempting a scam.
