Coldplay Fans in Montreal Duped by Counterfeit Ticket Scam

Turns out the barcodes on the tickets were actually for a Green Day show back in March

Photo: Lucia Graca

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Aug 10, 2017

Coldplay are currently in the midst of their "A Head Full of Dreams Tour," but a number of fans in Montreal were denied access to last night's (August 9) show due to a counterfeit ticket scam.
 
Montreal police say that, so far, 17 individuals have filed complaints about faulty tickets for last night's performance at the Bell Centre.
 
One fan, Eva Romano, told CBC that after the show sold out, she opted to purchase tickets from a man on Kijiji, ultimately paying $200 for a pair of tickets originally valued at $40 each.
 
"He made me feel like everything was very legit," Romano said, despite her reservations about buying tickets from an unofficial party. "However, that ended up not being the case."
 
When she and a friend presented their tickets at the Bell Centre gates, the printed tickets would not scan. They were directed to the front office, where an employee told them that the barcode on the tickets was actually for a Green Day concert that took place earlier this year.
 
Romano proceeded to file a complaint with police, and said that when she arrived at the nearest station there were a number of other people in the same situation. She believes they all purchased tickets from the same person, though other scam victims told her they paid up to $400 for their counterfeit tickets.
 
Police spokesperson Const. Manuel Couture told CBC that since the investigation has just begun, they can't confirm whether everyone was tricked by the same scammer yet. He warned concertgoers that "there is no such thing as zero risk" when buying tickets from unofficial parties, and encouraged people to purchase directly from the promoter to ensure the legitimacy of the tickets.
 
Coldplay's remaining tour stops include more trips to Canada with shows in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver in the coming weeks. Find the full list of upcoming shows here.

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