Online Ticket Scams Leave Tampere Festivalgoers Out of Pocket, Police Warn

'I'd leave the ticket unbought in such a situation,' said Matti Kotisaari, a fraud investigator with the Central Finland Police, to Tamperelainen. He warns that online ticket scams remain common this summer, with numerous fraud reports recorded in 2025.

Scammers now often deliver already-used or otherwise invalid tickets after a sale, rather than disappearing entirely. Most incidents occur in social media ticket groups or private messages. Reported losses range from €5 to several hundred, and many perpetrators repeatedly target multiple victims.

Kotisaari recommends meeting the seller face-to-face at the event gate so a ticket can be checked before payment, searching a seller's name online and confirming the payment recipient matches the seller. He urges anyone defrauded to report the crime to police and to save screenshots and payment receipts. Cases typically go to prosecutors, but recovered funds are rare because offenders are often insolvent.