Cork rugby fan loses thousands in online ticket scam

A CORK rugby fan has warned other supporters against buying World Cup tickets from online sites after he was allegedly scammed out of thousands of euro.

Irish navy engineer Paul O’Brien, 30, from Cork city, issued the warning after paying out the money for a set of tickets to Ireland’s four pool matches and two potential quarter-final ties at the tournament, to be held in New Zealand this summer.

Mr O’Brien believed he had made the purchases — which cost more than €3,600 — as the first step in a once-in-a-lifetime sporting holiday with his friends.

However, it soon emerged that instead of buying the tickets from the official www.rugbyworldcup.com site he had bought them from www.worldcup2011.com.

This unofficial site is run by a Norwegian-registered firm called Euroteam, which took Mr O’Brien’s credit card details and charged him immediately without the tickets arriving.

After searching the internet for further information on the unofficial site and contacting World Cup organisers, the Corkman soon realised he was unlikely to receive his tickets as other fans have also been duped into paying large amounts of money without confirmation they bought valid tickets.

“I can’t see those tickets being delivered. You have to be realistic about it,” Mr O’Brien told the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

Mr O’Brien has since purchased tickets from the official site to ensure the trip is not cancelled.

However, his credit card issuer, Bank of Ireland, has told him he must wait until the September delivery date for the tickets has passed before it can investigate.