Paw Patrol scam hits Facebook users

Police have warned Facebook users that adverts for Paw Patrol Live events around the UK are a scam designed to fleece unsuspecting fans. The users of HotUKDeals.com were already on the case.

One member took to the dealsharing site on Tuesday afternoon, pointing out that they had been alerted to the deal, but were wary for a few reasons. NeoTRix posted: "Something seems amiss! £10 a ticket seems very reasonable and the Facebook page does carry a mistake in the page name! "Paw Patrol Live Uk" and not "Paw Patrol Live UK". It doesn't seem to have any visible legit links/ties to Paw Patrol, that I can see! For most, this would generally trigger people to question things!"

The users pointed out that comments to the page that questioned its legitimacy had been deleted, and that one fellow deal-sharer had contacted two of the Aberdeen venues where the event was apparently being held, only to be told there was no such event.

The poster updated the story a while later with news that Paw Patrol had confirmed there was no live tour planned in the UK, and that the scam page had been taken down.

Police have now confirmed that they are investigating. Scottish police issued a statement saying: "Various complaints have been made to the police in relation to a Scam Paw Patrol Event being held in the Norwood Hall Hotel and the Jury's Inn Hotel at a price of £10 per head. This is not a confirmed event at any of the named hotels and the company Eventbee Inc (Facebook) appear to be a fraudulent company."

What can you do?

Some users commented on the posting, saying they had been taken in by the scam. If you have parted with any money, the police are asking people to contact their bank to report the fraud and call 101 quoting incident no 157 of October 11 to have your details noted.

If you paid for your ticket by credit card or Paypal you may be able to contact them for a refund. If you paid by debit card it's worth contacting your bank to see if they operate a chargeback scheme, where they may be able to recover some or all of your money.

Stay alert

Another user pointed out that in the run up to Christmas, this kind of fake event scam peaks on Facebook. Last month police warned about a fake Mrs Brown's Boys charity show in Birmingham, which never existed, but managed to scam fans out of up to £35 per ticket.

Action Fraud says that to protect yourself from ticket scams, when you hear about an event on Facebook, you need to take the time to do some research. Check with the event organiser, promoter or venue how and when tickets are being distributed.

Check where the company's office is and whether they have a landline in this country and a proper address rather than a PO box. Also check online if there is any criticism of the company.

Pay for tickets by credit card – the card issuer is jointly liable for a failure for goods or services to be provided as long as the price of a single ticket is more than £100 (but less than £30,000), but check with your card provider how long the period of liability is if the event is further ahead.

That way not only are you protecting yourself from paying for a fake event, but from the horrible disappointment of your family when you show up and discover the whole thing has been a scam.