That's the value of the fraud market, says report

Ticket fraud cost British comedy fans almost £10million last year.

It is estimated that 871,850 fans lost a total £9,490,523 buying non-existent or fake tickets at an average of £45 each.

The most targeted comedy shows were, perhaps predictably, the biggest selling arena tours, specifically Michael McIntyre's Showtime! tour, John Bishop's Rollercoaster and Jimmy Carr's Gagging Order.

Comedy was second to music in the number of fraudulent ticket sales, representing almost a fifth (18.6 per cent) of the market. It is a huge rise from 2011, when just under 2.5 per cent of those scammed were buying comedy tickets.

Just one in 25 victims were tricked by traditional 'touting' outside a venue, with the overwhelming majority duped online by fake ticket websites, auction sites or on Facebook or Twitter.

The report – provocatively titled Scam Nation 2013 – was commissioned by ticket resale website Viagogo, which makes a selling point of its anti-fraud measures.

Market researchers OnePoll quizzed 2,000 live entertainment customers, and projected that up to 4.7million people paid more than £50million for non-existent tickets for live entertainment over the last 12 months.

The report echoes one issued by the Metropolitan Police in February, which estimated that the value of the ticket fraud market could be as high as £40 million. Just four per cent of those scammed report their crime to the police

Viagogo's head of marketing Ed Parkinson said: 'Worryingly, the report shows the amount fraudsters are making has increased by £20million – or 67 per cent – in the last 12 months alone. It's not just money that the public lose when targeted by scams, they also miss out on the event itself.'

The company has itself proved controversial, with accusations that it exploits fans by inflating prices from which it then takes a cut. Last year it failed in a bid to to obtain a High Court injunction against an episode of Channel 4's Dispatches which claimed that the majority of tickets offered on its site are not from individual punters but from professional ticket resellers or via deals signed with other promoters.

The top 10 comedy shows targeted for ticket fraud, according to the report were:

1. Michael McIntyre: Showtime!
2. John Bishop: Rollercoaster
3. Jimmy Carr: Gagging Order
4. Mrs Brown’s Boys: Good Mourning Mrs Brown Live
5. Frankie Boyle: Last Days of Sodom
6. Sarah Millican: Thoroughly Modern Millican
7. Al Murray: The Only Way is Epic
8. Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues
9. Dara O’Briain: Craic Dealer
10. Rhod Gilbert: The Man with the Flaming Battenberg Tattoo

-by Jay Richardson

Published: 18 Apr 2013