Many scams targeting Cavendish music fest, RCMP say

A young girl tried to buy a ticket on Kijiji this week for the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. She sent her money, but nothing came back.

It's one of several current scams targeting fans of the popular concerts, says Sgt. Leanne Butler of Queens District RCMP.

"It is a lot of money for a youth to lose. She was upset," said Butler.

Last year, people photocopying the same ticket over and over was a common scam. That's happening again, along with other attempts to defraud country music fans.

Camp site scam

Another involves scammers selling campground sites that don't exist.

"They sell the site or say they have the site booked and they're going to transfer it to them, and then when the money is transferred, it's not an actual site," Butler said.

The best way to avoid being ripped off is to be aware of these swindles before encountering one, Butler said.

"Be careful. On the second-hand sites like Kijiji, you really should not be doing any purchases that are second-hand where you send them the money without seeing [the tickets] in person."

Some scammers 'not actually in the country'

People buying tickets can get the seller to transfer them into the buyer's name, instead of having someone else's name on it, she added.

"Be aware it can be changed, so you can transfer it to someone else, and that should be done in person before you actually take the ticket."

Police are investigating the CBMF scams as best they can, but some just aren't doable, Butler said.

"A lot of them are very difficult because the phone numbers, the people are not actually in the country. They're the ones who look through Kijiji to find the people [wanting tickets] and contact them," she said.

"Those, unfortunately, are impossible for us to find out who it is."

Don't 'let yourself be a victim'

The RCMP is investigating the local ones, like photocopying tickets.

Other scams circulate at any time of year, like those purporting to be from the CRA or leaving messages in Mandarin.

"The best [thing] is not to let yourself be a victim. Be aware of what's out there. If it sounds weird, sounds fishy, it probably is."

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