Warning on Olympic ticket touts

With eight million Olympic Games tickets becoming available from today (Tuesday 15 March) police are warning sports fans to only buy tickets through the official website or by using postal application forms.

Tickets bought through any other source are invalid and any money paid out will only serve to line the pockets of fraudsters and ticket touts. Fake websites set up to cash in on the demand for tickets could also be used to steal personal and credit card details to use in other crimes.

Tickets are available between 15 March–26 April this year and are not allocated on a first come first served basis. Two million tickets for the Paralympics are also only being made available through these two official channels.

Unwanted tickets can only be refunded through the London 2012 ticket exchange where they will be officially resold depriving con artists the opportunity of profiting from fake tickets.

The official website is: www.tickets.london2012.com.

Postal application forms are obtainable from Lloyds TSB branches.

Fans can only get tickets as part of a Games Breaks or Hospitality Package through three official providers in the UK. These are: Thomas Cook (www.thomascooklondon2012.com), Prestige Travel (www.prestigeticketing.london2012.com) and Jet Set Travel (www.jetsetsports.com).

Other websites or companies are not authorised to sell tickets as part of a package in the UK.

Superintendent Bryan Lawton who is leading for Greater Manchester Police on issues related to the Olympic Games said: “The 2012 Games provide all sorts of commercial opportunities for companies across the UK. Unfortunately they could also offer opportunities for criminals to con and steal by selling fake tickets and merchandise either directly or through professional looking websites.

“People can safeguard themselves from falling victim to these greedy crooks by only going through the official channels outlined here when buying or getting refunds on tickets.

“They can also help us stop criminals profiting from their illegal activities by refusing to buy tickets from any unauthorised sources however plausible they may seem and reporting them either directly to police on 0161 872 5050 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."