‘Just Tick It’ is an awareness campaign run by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It aims to increase consumer awareness of online ticket scams and provide ticket buyers with helpful and practical advice on how to avoid being scammed. Just Tick It aims to raise awareness of online ticket scams and help ticket buyers avoid being tricked.

For more information visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ticketscams

The Just Tick It campaign is urging everyone to tick off the following checklist before buying tickets online from a website:

How has the website got the tickets to sell? Check with the event to find out when tickets are being released for sale and when the tickets will be sent out.

What are others saying about the website? Search the internet to find out what other people’s experiences have been. If in another language, use a search engine’s translation service so that you can understand the content,

How can you contact the company? Check that you know its full geographic address and check it has a working landline phone number.

Can they provide ticket details? Ensure that the face value of the tickets and the seat location/festival area are clearly listed.

Do they provide refunds? Make sure there is a refund policy in case something goes wrong.

Michele Shambrook from The OFT-managed consumer advice service Consumer Direct said: ’Major events such as the World Cup and large music festivals are prime targets for ticket scammers. We encourage everyone buying tickets to events overseas to be especially vigilant and on the lookout for potential scams. When buying from websites that may be in a different language it can be even harder to ensure it is legitimate - so make sure you put the website’s name into a search engine and see what other people are saying about it. Most search engines have a translation function which is useful if the website is not in English.’

For more information about scam ticket websites and how to protect yourself visit: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ticketscams