Got Scammed via Facebook Marketplace Using Moshtix - Advice Please!

Lraybebs on 16/12/2022 - 12:58
Last edited 16/12/2022 - 13:38 by 1 other user

Hi all,

Wanting some advice on this situation. I was looking to buy tickets for the Rufus du Sol concert on the 16th Dec (tonight) and got fooled by a pretty elaborate scam. I'm annoyed as I was quite careful and thought I did everything right.

Events:

  • Posted on FaceBook seeking tickets to the event

  • Was messaged by an individual selling two tickets for $140 each

  • The individual requested I pay by Paypal (friends and family) and some details to change the tickets to my name, I provided the details but declined and said I was only comfortable paying by PayPal Goods and Services

  • They were reluctant but eventually accepted, saying they would only transfer the tickets once payment has cleared - I had no problem with this and transferred the payment across

  • However, they refunded my payment THEN transferred the tickets to me anyway via MoshTix. This was a legitimate email from MoshTix with PDF tickets from the event (I have attached screenshots here https://imgur.com/a/wr0Mq7K)

  • They then asked if I could send through the money either via Paypal (F&F) or bank transfer so they could get the money straight away.

  • In my mind, as these tickets came from MoshTix itself, I wasn't worried about the legitimacy. Acting in good faith (although a bit suspicious) I did a bank transfer after logging onto the MoshTix site and being able to view my ticket so I felt safe.

  • A day later I received this email from MoshTix (https://imgur.com/a/35R1dqE) saying the event has been cancelled. The event name changed to 'Fake Event Rufus du Sol' and now I am out of pocket.

  • I have spoken to my bank, they will try to request my money back but its not looking likely. I contacted MoshTix but they have absolved themselves of any responsibility.

Question: I know there is a risk associated with buying resale items but do I have any recourse here? In my view MoshTix have a responsibility to ensure they verify the events on their website. How can they allow fake events like this to be posted on their website?

Entertainment

Related Stores

Moshtix
Moshtix
Marketplace

Comments

  • Porker on 16/12/2022 - 13:03

    I interpreted the situation as the other person buying the tickets and then seeking a refund for them prior to the event and AFTER they got your money.

    The second dot point from the MoshTix email:

    "Tickets have been refunded in line with a request from you"

    • siresteelhell on 18/12/2022 - 12:29

      This is how people were being scammed on viagogo… people would "sell" the tickets on the site to people, then cancel or say their tickets were lost to ticketek and get new tickets sent to them…

  • dust on 16/12/2022 - 13:04
    +18

    You got scammed on Facebook not Moshtix.

    • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:08
      +4

      Not sure that is the case based on rompastompa's comment below

      'So, I'd say they put a fake event on Moshtix, and added via Facebook to show you the event. They then took your money externally (not via Moshtix), but purchased it themselves to show it was 'genuine'. Once your money cleared, they cancelled the event and refunded themselves via Moshtix. Probably using a burner email / moshtix account so can't be identified.'

  • Drakesy on 16/12/2022 - 13:06
    +3

    Well, they do say only buy from the authorised reseller (which is moshtix)

    In a way by going through Facebook unfortunately you open yourself to this. Also you have to ask yourself if there's a waitlist for the tickets and this guys selling on facebook it's got to be too good to be true.

  • kerfuffle on 16/12/2022 - 13:17
    +2

    Are you sure that's really an e-mail from [email protected]? People can fake e-mail headers. Moshtix is a legit company and you got scammed on Facebook as dust pointed out.

    logging onto the MoshTix site and being able to view my ticket so I felt safe.

    Can you still view your tickets on the Moshtix website? What was the address of the site you visited?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 16/12/2022 - 13:49

      Can you still view your tickets on the Moshtix website? What was the address of the site you visited?

      Yoooo this exactly.

      The email spoofing is very common scam these days but if they actually fabricated a copy of moshtix website with working login portal etc, then DAMN, that IS elaborate.

      • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:00

        Yep definitely from MoshTix itself! That's why I didn't have my guard up. I can still view the tickets on the real MoshTix website they have just been cancelled.

        I tested by googling MoshTix and accessing from there

  • iNeed2Pee on 16/12/2022 - 13:20
    +10

    You lost me at Facebook.

  • zonra on 16/12/2022 - 13:21
    +15

    Sellers’ repeated insistence on Paypal F&F and bank transfer would have been a huge red flag.
    Now you will learn to allocate trust more appropriately.
    But yes, you were scammed by the facebook seller, not MoshTix.
    MoshTix sold that person a ticket, which was cancelled and refunded as per that person’s request. MoshTix never transacted or had an agreement with you.

    • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:04
      -1

      Yeah that was a red flag but I just couldnt figure out what the scam was. A big learning

      • zonra on 16/12/2022 - 14:34
        +1

        but I just couldnt figure out what the scam was.

        I see a lot of recent posts with similar thought process.
        Seriously, if you can’t understand how you may get scammed going into the transaction, do NOT proceed with the transaction.
        This is as bad as pre-signing a blank contract with some randos.

        Educate yourself before the fact, and if still unsure, play it safe. If you choose to risk it anyway despite the flags, you only have yourself to blame.

        • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:55

          Yeah that's a fair comment. In this case, i wasn't expecting them to refund the PayPal G&S and only became suspicious when they did so. By that time they had sent the tickets already so I thought I was doing the right thing by them

          • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:55

            @raybebs: By sending payment *

          • DoctorCalculon on 16/12/2022 - 19:57

            @raybebs:

            so I thought I was doing the right thing by them

            This is exactly what scammers rely on to scam people.

        • Ebany on 18/12/2022 - 11:40
          +1

          I'm sure the OP is aware of everything you're saying, given they've had some time to review their decisions. Maybe it would be more productive to focus on the questions the OP asked: What other roads can they take to recover their money and how do these scams happen involving large legitimate sites.

  • Muzeeb on 16/12/2022 - 13:30
    +4

    The Moshtix resale is the ONLY safe way to buy and sell tickets. If no tickets are available please keep checking back regularly as they do come up.

    Patience cost you on this occasion.

    Better luck next time grasshopper.

  • Duckie2hh on 16/12/2022 - 13:32
    +1

    Sucks to be you. Caveat Emptor.

  • rompastompa on 16/12/2022 - 13:44
    +21

    According to this old and possibly outdated Terms and Conditions, you can create your own event.

    They can then cancel for free if less than 10 tickets sold.

    Less than 10 tickets sold : no charge
    10 - 100 tickets sold : $100
    100 ticket sold : $250

    So, I'd say they put a fake event on Moshtix, and added via Facebook to show you the event. They then took your money externally (not via Moshtix), but purchased it themselves to show it was 'genuine'. Once your money cleared, they cancelled the event and refunded themselves via Moshtix. Probably using a burner email / moshtix account so can't be identified.

    I've seen heaps of fake events piggy backing real events on Facebook. Definitely they (moshtix, facebook events, etc) need to have additional information to stop these, but I can understand why they don't do any checks as it'll get in the way of 'personal' events being created / managed.

    • thatonethere on 16/12/2022 - 13:58
      +1

      Hopefully the media picks up on this scam.

    • spackbace on 16/12/2022 - 14:00
      +6

      Correct, the event ID on the ticket is wrong

      Real:
      https://m.moshtix.com.au/v2/event/rufus-du-sol-melbourne-show-2-official-resale/132473

      Where OP's is 147577

      Googling OP's event ID comes up with nothing

      • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:07
        +1

        Yeah good pickup - honestly didnt event know scams were that sophisticated. I reckon 95% of the population wouldn't check the event ID

        • spackbace on 16/12/2022 - 14:09
          +1

          Unlikely, though you may have recourse through moshtix as a result

          • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:13

            @spackbace: Any ideas for how to get this recourse? I'm a bit stuck

            • spackbace on 16/12/2022 - 14:17
              +4

              @raybebs: https://tixsupport.moshtix.com.au/hc/en-us/requests/new

              "Someone used your site to scam me, and your processes allowed it. Please let me know if you're going to change your systems any time soon, as the press might want to know about how easily this can occur and how easily someone can setup a fake event on your site"

              Of course, tell your whole story from start to finish as well

              You might not get your money back unfortunately, but Moshtix can do better to stop it happening again.

              It's the whole reason why Coles etc have big signs around now warning people buying gift cards to pay scammers, and that they shouldn't.

              Duty of care, etc

              • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:27

                @spackbace: Thank you, this helps heaps! I agree, I feel like I won't be the only one who has fallen for this

        • dcep on 17/12/2022 - 03:09

          As an Ozb you should always check the product ID, just like those price error deals posted here with mismatching product title and SKUs.

    • alwayscheaper on 16/12/2022 - 14:01
      +1

      Wow! OP suggest you file police report anyway, there should really be an IP address chase for these scammers =(

      • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:13
        +1

        agree! I have made a police report so we will see how that goes

  • offthetap on 16/12/2022 - 13:49

    i have only ever bought and sold goods to randoms using cash and the physical items in my hand. never once been scammed.

    • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:11

      thats the ideal for sure

      • Seraphin7 on 16/12/2022 - 16:10
        +1

        At the risk of nitpicking, it's not the "ideal", it's the "only" way to minimise as much as risk as possible in these types of transactions.

        And therefore it becomes the "only" way to do business where you don't know the other party, unless you are genuinely happy to put your $$$$ at risk knowing there will be effectively no recourse if it does blow up.

  • Chong on 16/12/2022 - 14:00
    +1

    if they are based in australia you should be able to report them for fraud? sounds like you got quite the paper trail. Would be worth considerig taking to the cops and seeing if theres any interest by them to take up the cause.

    • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:02
      +2

      Yep I have reported them with my bank and the police, I do have their bank details so we will see how we go

      • Chong on 16/12/2022 - 14:05
        +1

        Good on you, hopefully discourages them from running such scams in the future!

  • Ceri on 16/12/2022 - 14:30

    What's the reasoning for refunding your payment the first time round?

    The email from moshtix does look legit, honestly not sure what else can be done here aside from calling the guy out on fb and reporting him through moshtix and paypal.
    If you have his details, do some sleuthing to find his personal info like facebook/linkedin/insta etc and harass him and his friends/fam/colleagues perhaps?

    Moshtix themselves dont seem that great tho, crap reviews on productreview and trustpilot,
    But yeah pretty elaborate scam and doesn't seem like the first time this guy has done it

    • raybebs on 16/12/2022 - 14:58

      It was pretty unexpected when they refunded it. They said they were having issues with PayPal G&S, and need the money urgently.

      At that point as I already had the tickets (which looked the real deal) I figured what's the harm in transferring.

      I have their bank details and name 'Louis Szabo' (so no one else gets scammed!) but the lady at the bank reckons they often use stolen bank accounts to facilitate this.

      • deveshwar0 on 16/12/2022 - 15:26
        +1

        Name does not matter as the bank transfers are not checked against account holders name. So you might say you're transferring to Mr A while the account can be in the name of Mr B

      • Ceri on 16/12/2022 - 22:06

        is the name the same across facebook and paypal? if the guy hasn't blocked you yet, look at the friends' list and save the deets of ppl close to him so you can contact them perhaps?

        not sure if it'd work for you, but i did this last time i bought item off gumtree without meeting in person. safe to say i avoid gumtree nowdays cuz its not worth the hassle for the most part. but mine prolly wasn't actively trying to scam necessarily

  • garetz on 16/12/2022 - 15:09
    +8

    You got refund scammed, any time someone refunds you the money for no reason at all, you know its a scam.

  • lordezekiel on 16/12/2022 - 15:27

    For me, Facebook/Gumtree = cash only, in person.

    • siresteelhell on 18/12/2022 - 12:32

      still can get done buying tickets…. they can just cancel them or say they were lost to ticketek (or whoever) after they leave (assuming they didnt sell from their home so you can go back)… they can just get new ones( and your cash)

  • Wiadro on 16/12/2022 - 16:16
    -3

    i got rds tickets on facebook and had no issues.
    the show was amazing

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 16/12/2022 - 16:40
    +4

    Important lesson. If anyone refunds you due to a "problem", it's generally because they want you to resend the money via an insecure method. Always run when you get your money back.

  • Hardlyworkin on 16/12/2022 - 17:05

    What time is the show? I'm keen to go.

  • TEER3X on 16/12/2022 - 17:12
    -1

    This would've got me easily. I got scammed with something far less sophisticated, but miraculously the bank refunded my money. It was only $150 and I doubt the bank actually reversed the transfer, I think it's because I've been with them forever and they've made a pretty penny from me.

  • Nutrino on 16/12/2022 - 21:37

    well boys and girls, the lesson for today is….

    • initiateit on 18/12/2022 - 12:42

      Both certain Ozbargainers and Scammers have no hearts?
      Poop is brown?

      Facebook is …?

  • Herbse on 18/12/2022 - 10:17

    So anyone can make events in moshtix on a whim and send out fake tickets?

  • Willy Beamish on 18/12/2022 - 13:11

    Sounds like moshtix should not be allowing people to create events without manual verification of some sort…

  • VehemenceThePhoenix on 18/12/2022 - 13:26
    +1

    Moshtix should be verifying events, especially when the name matches an existing event!

    • zonra on 18/12/2022 - 13:47

      That’s like saying Facebook and eBay should verify the authenticity of all items/listings on the platform.
      The onus should be on one’s self to research and take preventative measures to prevent getting scammed.
      Even if you bubble wrap everyone they’ll still find ways to injure themselves.

      • VehemenceThePhoenix on 18/12/2022 - 13:51
        +1

        I think it's a much smaller scale here, and also much easier to implement here. If a show has x sales, and an event with the same name matches, invoke a manual review time frame. Simple.

        • zonra on 18/12/2022 - 15:16

          Fair enough.
          You’d still find people getting scammed with a gazillion security systems in place though. Best to be vigilant yourself.

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