Investigation launched as hopeful Electric Picnic attendees scammed
The culmination of the summer festival calendar takes place next weekend at Stradbally, Co Laois with headliners including Chappell Roan, Hozier and Fatboy Slim all due to perform.
With tickets to the major Irish festival like gold dust, it's the perfect time for scam artists and fraudsters to prey on unsuspecting music fans. A Garda investigation has been launched following several reports of a number of people being scammed into purchasing non-existent tickets to sold-out Electric Picnic. Pic: Aerial.ie
The Irish Mirror reports that a well-known beauty pageant participant is at the helm of the investigation, with victims coming forward on video-sharing site TikTok sharing their horror stories.
It is understood the woman, aged in her 20s, has paid back some of the monies to date, with the publication adding that she has been 'fully cooperative' with investigating Gardaí.
The Laois woman appears to have deleted all traces of her social media as victims continue to come forward via TikTok. Kneecap are amongst the star-studded line-up. Pic: Sony Pictures/Everett/REX/Shutterstock
The Irish Independent reports that the woman is 'expected to be arrested in the coming weeks.'
A statement from An Garda Síochána issued via Instagram on Wednesday afternoon urged festival fans to 'exert a great degree of caution' when trying to purchase tickets for sold-out events such as EP.
They said: 'We are currently investigating alleged incidents of online fraud (alleged resale of event tickets) that are believed to have occurred in recent weeks.
'If you may have been a victim of online fraud, please report it to us at your local Garda Station in person or by phone, or alternatively call the Freephone Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111.
'It is very important that you exert a great degree of caution if attempting to purchase tickets for a sold-out event through any third-party known or otherwise.
'Do not trust that the tickets you believe you are purchasing are real.
'It is likely that they will not materialise and in fact, do not exist.
'Please do not send money through any app in advance.'
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