A few weeks before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the authorities are increasing their efforts to track down ticket resale fraud. According to information from Franceinfo published this Sunday, June 9, the cyber gendarmerie, in collaboration with Europol, has identified 338 scam sites since March 2023, “of which 51 have been closed and 140 put on notice”.
The captain and director of operations, Etienne Lestrelin, told the news site that most fraudulent platforms are hosted abroad, because “the procedures are longer and less easy to bring an action to close or withdraw the site”. Sometimes, some sites simply aim to fraudulently collect personal data, such as contact information, but others go as far as to extract money.
Real sites, but without authorization
The majority of fraudulent sales are made via social networks, from person to person, with resellers trying to circumvent the official platform. The sale price can be an indicator of a scam: “You will never have a ticket below its original cost”, the aim of a resale being “to make a profit”, underlines the captain Etienne Lestrelin. The latter also reminds that a resale without going through the site constitutes a criminal offense, to which the buyer agrees in the event of acquisition via this method.
Also beware of those who claim to provide a ticket now, as these have not yet been generated and sent to buyers. In addition to pirate accounts, you should also be wary of “real” sites, such as show ticket sales platforms, which resell tickets even though they do not have authorization to do so. In the event of fraud, the buyer can make a report to the police, the gendarmerie or the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention.
Use only the official platform
To avoid scams, the authorities therefore advise only going through the official sales and resale site, tickets.paris2024.org, or via the “Paris 2024 tickets” application. Those who purchased tickets during the different sales phases will be able to obtain them, and if necessary transfer them to the final recipient via these platforms. They can also resell tickets at the purchase price, with 5% fees for the seller and 10% for the buyer. “It is possible to resell your ticket up to 12 hours before the start of the session. Please note that only the buyer can resell a ticket, and not the beneficiary”, also reminds Franceinfo.
The list of official sub-distributors according to country is also available on the site. The places for the ceremonies, including the 100,000 paid places on the lower quays of the Seine for the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26, will be accessible, transferable and resalable from mid-June, specified the Cojop at AFP.