THREE Alicante scammers have been arrested for selling counterfeit tickets to festivals and shows across Spain.
The online fraud prompted over a hundred complaints to the Policia Nacional from duped purchasers.
Investigators believe many more people were defrauded but did not report it due to the relatively low sums involved with ticket prices ranging between €15 and €60 each.
The fraudsters- believed to be from the same family- made a ‘full-time living’ from their enterprise and were contacting new victims when their Alicante base was raided.
Tickets were sold for festivals in the Valencia region or for shows like ‘The Lion King’ in Madrid plus concerts featuring big-name artists.
Online buyers were sent genuine-looking tickets with bar and QR codes on them.
They had a professional appearance right down to images of artists and acts, along with details of the venue and the price paid.
Victims only discovered the deception when the tickets were scanned at venue entrances.
The scammers posted advertisements on social media and internet platforms to lure in customers.
They also trawled through sites where people were looking for tickets to specific events and offered deals at a low price to lure them in.
The police raid in Alicante netted eight hard drives, two mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, 11 credit cards, three USB sticks and two laptops.
13 bank accounts used to receive their illegal income have been blocked.