Eventbrite set to refund victims scammed by fake Adelaide New Year’s Eve yacht party

Ticketing platform Eventbrite is to refund more than 100 people who were scammed when purchasing tickets for a non-existent New Year’s Eve boat party in Adelaide.

As reported by the ABC, South Australian Police are investigating an incident which saw would be revellers pay for tickets to the party which did not exist. Buyers turned up at Glenelg to board a boat and celebrate the New Year while enjoying drinks, food and music onboard, but the boat never arrived.

An Eventbrite spokesperson said those that had paid for the $120 tickets through the platform will be immediately refunded.

The spokesperson for the Ireland-based company, told the ABC "all evidence we have right now points towards the conclusion that the advertised ‘NYE on the Bay Boat Party’ in Glenelg was a fraudulent event, and we are therefore refunding all attendees in full today.

“It can take five to seven business days for those refunds to show in the attendees’ accounts.

“We will learn from this case to continue to evolve our detection mechanisms to stay ahead of scammers, and we are cooperating with South Australia Police to support their investigation into the people behind this event.”

Local real estate agent Callum Kennedy told ABC that his identity and Australian Business Number were stolen to make the event seem legitimate. Kennedy has previously registered a similar, but not quite identical, business name linked to the scam.

Social media accounts and related profiles - now no longer active - used to promote the party appeared to have copied his profiles.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says ticketing companies need to have better protective measures in place.

ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said ticketing companies should be more vigilant about protecting consumers from scams, commenting "I think ticketing companies and others, just as scams move into more and more different platforms, need to be looking at how they're exposed and looking at what they need to be doing to protect consumers."

Image: A promotion for the fake New Year's Eve boat party, posted on Eventbrite as part of the scam. Credit: Eventbrite.