The Vancouver Police Department is warning Drake fans to be wary of purchasing fraudulent tickets to the hip-hop star’s concerts this weekend.
Fake tickets are created and sold for every event in Vancouver, says Montague, but high-profile events such as Drake and other A-list concerts inspire many more instances of fraud.
While police do regularly catch the makers and sellers of fake tickets, victims rarely get their money back, Montague warned.
“One of the real challenges we face is that we don’t know a crime has been committed until after the concert,” he said. “This is often days after the tickets have been purchased, and evidence is destroyed or gone. And the fraudsters are usually people that we’re not familiar with, people that don’t have a history with the police.
“When we do arrest people for this, victims are still out their money,” he added, explaining credit card information often gets passed through multiple hands before being lost for good.
Sale of fraudulent tickets through forums such as Craigslist become especially prevalent during the days immediately leading up to a concert, including the day of the event, says Montague, urging desperate fans to think twice before trusting a stranger with their money. Fake tickets can look just like real tickets, with maybe one or two details missing that make them unable to scan for entry.
Drake is playing two shows with Future at Rogers Arena this weekend, on Saturday Sept. 17 and Sunday Sept. 18. Resale tickets are still available through ticketmaster.ca. Prices are consistent with those being advertised on Craigslist, yet the tickets themselves (and their authenticity) are approved by Ticketmaster.
This story has been updated throughout.
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