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The celebrated Byron Bay Bluesfest has become a target of a well-made fraudulent social media page which is targeting fans with a scam.
The festival wrapped up its 35th edition on April 1 but a copycat Facebook page had been created in November 2023, and detailed, legitimate looking content has been posted in the lead up to the multi-day festival, during the week and since.
The fake page is ‘selling’ full video replays, after offering live streams during the festival.
The true organisers did not livestream any of the festival. There have been multiple fake pages which organisers have been reporting and Facebook has stamped out, but one particular page remained online Friday night, even after an event promoter reported it to Meta.
That fake page is full of disgruntled commenters who say they have given credit card details only to get no videos of the festival in return.
“Now my credit card has been blocked by (the) bank, so frustrating,” one woman says.
“Is this why all my scam safeguards are shutting my accounts down,” another man said.
Bluesfest organisers have now responded to the scams, urging punters to remain vigilant when sharing payment information, and ensuring they are only interacting with the official website.
A post shared on social media said organisers were “actively reporting these fake entities to Facebook,” and urged fans to spread the word, and report any suspicious pages or groups.
“We’ve noticed an increase in fake pages, groups, and events claiming to be associated with our beloved Bluesfest. We want to remind everyone that there is ONLY ONE official Bluesfest Page,” the post said.
“We do not host live streams of our events. Any page or group offering live streams is not affiliated with us.
“Take personal responsibility when using your credit card online. Always ensure you’re on the official Bluesfest website before making any purchases or donations.”
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