Two held by police investigating fake Liverpool FC tickets scam

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/feb/11/two-held-police-fake-liverpool-fc-tickets-scam

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Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating a conspiracy to sell fake tickets to hundreds of fans attending Liverpool FC home games.

The pair, aged 29 and 27, were detained after officers from Merseyside police’s Matrix Serious Organised Crime (MSOC) unit executed search warrants at houses in Anfield on Tuesday evening.

Items believed to be used in the production of counterfeit tickets were seized during the raids.

The police activity follows months of investigations into reports from hundreds of Liverpool fans, many from abroad, who unwittingly responded to fraudulent adverts on the internet selling tickets for home games.

Police said that in some cases victims paid money for tickets that were promised but never arrived in the post. In others, victims were met by individuals and given a ticket but then later refused entry because the ticket was fake.

DI Helen Bennett, from MSOC’s economic interventions team, said: “The victims have usually arranged a holiday or weekend break to the city to coincide with a home match and so have spent an awful lot of money upfront.

“Many of the people reporting this matter have travelled from as far afield as America and Europe to get to a game and have been left bitterly disappointed, as well as out of pocket, when they have been turned away at the gate.

“Offences such as these leave a lasting, negative impression of our city on the victims and the police are committed to working with the club to target the criminals behind such scams and bring them to justice.”

She added: “To ensure that other people do not fall victim in the same way, our advice would be to always use official, legitimate and authorised websites to purchase tickets to any event.”

The two arrested men are being questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.