Music Festival Related Scams and Associated Activity Trending.

The music festival sector is expected to grow significantly in the coming years along with associated spend and revenues. This makes every aspect of a music festival attractive to criminals intent on extracting money from unsuspecting victims. What scams and activity are currently trending that organisers and festival-goers need to be wary of this year and beyond.

The global value of the music festival sector was estimated at around **USD 2.16 billion in 2024 making it a prime target for scammers. The increased use of online electronic ticketing and financial transaction platforms along with associated websites and social media channels has created new opportunities for criminals. They target festival-goers, vendors, artists and organisers using a number or schemes and scams which are constantly evolving. 

Ticketing. 
Ticketing scams are by far the most common fraudulent activity as criminals attempt to sell counterfeit tickets using a variety of methods with ticketing platforms vulnerable to hacking and customer data theft. A genuine ticket can be duplicated numerous times and resold making it one of the most popular scams with festival-goers unaware they have been scammed until they get refused entry to an event. Potential ticket buyers are often lured by rogue websites and social media channels often using QR codes to collect payments. 

Merchandise. 
Festival organisers can generate substantial revenue form their merchandise sales and collectable limited editions can fetch higher values on the second-hand market. Merchandise is easily replicated and often made from inferior materials and counterfeit merch is common on the second-hand market. Unauthorised vendors sometimes set up pitches near festival sites purporting to sell genuine merchandise which is usually a low-quality counterfeit copy. 

Rogue Websites and Social Media Channels. 
Advances in technology combined with criminally skilled programmers has resulted in duplicate websites and social media channels copied from a genuine music festival online presence. These rouge websites and socials media channels can be so good that it's often difficult for visitors to distinguish between the genuine and fake ones. These impersonating platforms will take payments for tickets, merchandise, accommodation, travel packages, vendor deposits, VIP packages and even volunteer deposits. They can be especially prevalent when a festival is sold out and demand for tickets is high and the scammers offer additional ticket availability to unsuspecting visitors. 

Phishing and Identity Theft. 
Both ticketing platforms and festival organisers can be vulnerable to data hacking where customer details are stolen and resold on the dark web. This in turn can lead to phishing emails generated to stolen email addresses with offers and discounts on ticketing and festival related services with the objective of acquiring personal data and payment information. Email scammers will often create emails with festival branding and links to webpages that capture a variety of personal and payment data. 

Measures for Organisers and Ticketing platforms. 
Organisers and ticketing platforms should be employing the latest cybersecurity measures to prevent hacking activity and reduce the threat of data theft or ransomware attacks. Wi-Fi networks set up on festival sites should provide users with high levels of security where possible and using RFID wristbands or secure digital ticketing can help to reduce ticket fraud. Organisers should ensure that staff are fully trained and aware of trending fake payments and counterfeit merchandise circulating. Most banks now recommend avoiding QR codes for payments as they are the most vulnerable methods of payment easily manipulated by scammers. 

Other considerations.
Organisers should keep up to date with trending scams and take appropriate action when detected. This may include communications to relevant audiences about current scams operating and providing tips on how to avoid falling for them. Recent activity has seen a focus on fake sustainability initiatives offering ‘green’ merchandise and donations to charities for example. There have also been fake festival mobile Apps in circulation that look identical to genuine festival Apps which steal personal data and even take payments for non-existent services. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering. 

**Cognitive Market Research
Image by Fernando Arcos via Pexels

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