Many people, including Australians have been hit by an online ticketing scam targeting the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The global scam has reportedly sold more than $50 million worth of fake Olympic tickets.
A Brisbane property developer lost close to $50,000 in the scam which involved a number of dummy websites such as www.beijing-tickets2008.com, www.beijingticketing.com and theonlineticketexchange.com set up to look like legitimate Olympic ticketing websites. Among those who were caught up in the scam was former NSW state opposition leader Kerry Chikarovski who lost $350 in the scam.
The Australian Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee have received thousands of complaints from consumers who have been conned and say that the websites fraudulently used the Olympic logos and trademarks to pass themselves off as being legitimate ticketing sites for the Olympic games. The International Olympic Committee has since closed down these sites and sued a number of them claiming they profited from their activities.
Alan Scott, the director of The Online Ticket Exchange, passed the blame on to suppliers saying "our suppliers have not been able to honour their commitments to us in supplying tickets for the Summer Olympics." * The Australian Olympic Committee has advised that any Olympic tickets should be purchased through the website CoSports which is the only authorised seller of Olympic tickets in the country. The Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has put images and samples on their website to show how the legitimate tickets should look like.
Australians who suspect that they may have been caught up in the scam have been urged to contact the Australian Olympic Committee.
*Source- Sydney Morning Herald
*Image- Official Beijing Olympic Website
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