Illegal Football Ticket Websites shut down
Monday, 07 September, 2009
In the first Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) operation of its kind, detectives
from the Police Central ecrime Unit (PCeU) have successfully taken action against in excess of 100 websites selling football tickets illegally.
The sites - based all over the world - have been advertising tickets for sale to Premier League and Football Association UK-based matches; duping unsuspecting fans
into buying either fraudulent or non-existent tickets. Codenamed Operation Phyllite - was a culmination of months of
meticulous investigations by the PCeU in response to an increasing problem around criminal misuse of the internet.
Investigations have involved working in close partnership with the Premier League, who have been assisting the PCeU for over a year, to crackdown on this type of online fraud and disrupt the organised criminal networks that benefit from its proceeds. Additional partner
agencies such as the FA, FIFA and
Trading Standards, as well as various internet service providers have also provided assistance and support. The internet allows criminals to trade online seemingly anonymously, hiding behind legitimate looking websites that convinces those taken in that they are engaging with a genuine trader. The victim's losses support future criminality by funding future scams and the money is laundered through legitimate
companies to set up future website
scams.
As part of the operation, officers spent much time and resources trawling websites on the look out for tickets being sold fraudulently. A number of offences were also reported by the dedicated football
fans that had fallen foul to this scam
and been left out of pocket.
Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie, from the PCeU said:"Fraudsters capitalise on the victim's desire to attend an event knowing that they will pay out for the opportunity to be present at that all important one off event. This
operation is the first time any law
enforcement agency has shut down
this many sites in unison and demonstrates our unit's commitment
to tackling this issue head-on. Our
overriding objective is to make the
UK a safer place to trade online."
