Three teens are languishing in a Sydney jail cell after being arrested for allegedly spruiking fake tix to overnight rave-athon Midnight Mafia, which goes down at Sydney Showground this Saturday.
Police stepped in after numerous complaints from event organisers, Harder Styles United, and stitched-up punters who paid up to $200 a pop for elaborate copies of the sold-out tix (the original sale price was $135).
The trio of 18-year-olds, all mates, were arrested on Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills, on Thursday night and will front Central Local Court this morning, charged with a string of offences including: knowingly deriving a material benefit by acting as a criminal group, publishing misleading material to obtain property and dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
HSU initially posted a warning about one batch of fakes – yellow “second release” tickets – after would-be punter Phuongie Bui shared photos of the dupes he bought on Gumtree.
Then it became known there was a second, even harder to detect batch of fake blue tickets; they have legit security barcodes but, unlike the originals, don’t have a shiny Ticketbooth logo on them.
The lesson here is: don’t buy tickets through unverified sellers. Or, if you can’t resist, ask for proof of purchase before handing over a fistful of cash.
If you’ve bought a Midnight Mafia ticket, and are worried about whether or not it’s legit in light of this scam, here’s what an OG one looks like.
Source: Facebook / Midnight Mafia.
Photo: Tom Truong.
