Not so new scam, seeling tickets that aren't real

guitarest · #1 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 05:04 AM

Internet Sites Sold Thousands of Counterfeit Olympic Tickets

Thousands of sports fans have been cheated by fake "Olympic" Internet sites that have sold them counterfeit admission tickets to the Olympic events in Beijing. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that they were undertaking strong measures to put an end to this criminal activity. However, counterfeit tickets would not be replaced by real ones. Close relatives of Olympic competitors from Australia and New Zealand as well as many sports fans from the US, Japan, Norway, Canada and Great Britain are among those who would not be able to attend the event because of the fraud. The IOC and the US Olympic Committee have submitted claims against six Internet sites with the Court in California. Jim Moriarty, an US lawyer, who has been cheated of USD 12,000, had stated that he was not satisfied with the IOC's reaction. "Everyone has been aware of those sites for months and no one has done anything. Thousands of people who have been planning to visit Beijing and the Olympics have been robbed of their vacation," Moriarty said. The attorney is planning to defend the fraud victims in court. One of those sites accused of selling counterfeit tickets is still operating, offering admission to numerous events, including to games' opening ceremony and tickets reaching up to USD 2,150. Local Australian media writes about people who have lost USD 45,000 while Moriarty has mentioned an individual who has lost USD 57,000. The Beijing Organization Committee has announced ten days ago that all tickets for the Beijing events have been sold out. Tickets are only available for competitions to be held outside the Chinese capital.