Liverpool have revealed they shut down 100,000 fake ticketing accounts and issued 75 lifetime bans and 136 indefinite suspensions last season as part of a crackdown on ticket touting.
The club said most of the bans and suspensions related to “unauthorised selling of season tickets, memberships or hospitality tickets”. In a warning to fans to buy tickets only through official channels, they said there had been an increase in the number of supporters being defrauded, particularly online.
“The number of accounts deactivated includes those cancelled following investigations and others blocked from sales or ballots due to suspicious online activity, or identified as bots,” Liverpool said.
“A further 5,670 accounts are currently under review by the club for suspicious activity, including supplying persons who have recently been charged by Merseyside police for fraud related to ticket touting. A total of 1,500 tickets were cancelled across the 23-24 season, either part of mass cancellations or from account holders who had already received sanctions, and the tickets were made available for resale.”
Liverpool said they were continuing to invest in anti-touting measures, including through online protection and “more boots-on-the-ground operations”.
Source: theguardian.com
