Laneway Festival organisers are warning music lovers to beware of counterfeit tickets being sold online.
It's becoming an increasing problem, according to organiser Mark Kneebone.
"It became easier for people to basically buy a ticket and then sell copies of it on the internet, predominantly through Facebook and other online mediums."
People who purchase resale tickets "are not protected if they are fake", Laneway said in a statement on their Facebook page.
Don Roquero says he felt "gutted" after trying to buy tickets which were likely to be fake from a user on Facebook.
The seller had posted on the Laneway event page, saying they were selling two Laneway tickets for $125 each.
Mr Roquero says when he contacted the seller, "everything seemed dodgy from the start."
"[They] wanted me to wire money through using Neteller, an online banking app," Mr Roquero says.
That's when Mr Roquero started to get suspicious.
"[She] insisted [I] make an account through it, but I wanted to ask for proof she had tickets," he says.
Mr Roquero set up the Netella account and put money in it, but wanted more definitive proof that the tickets were legitimate before sending the money through to the seller.
When the seller realised Mr Roquero wasn't going to send the money through without more evidence, she blocked him on Facebook.
Although Mr Roquero didn't send money through to the account provided by the seller, he lost $34 in Netella account fees.
"I felt a bit gutted since I knew I shouldn't have deposited, but I was just trying to get a good deal since I'm a bit low on money right now," Mr Roquero says.
But the loss "isn't too bad, considering I could have lost much more," he said.
In post on Laneway's Facebook page, Greta Vaitkunaite warns against purchasing tickets off the same seller Mr Roquero struggled with.
"This chick was selling two tickets on here. When I asked for proof she blocked me. So watch out," Ms Vaitkunaite wrote.
Laneway will take place on Monday, January 30, in Auckland's Albert Park.
Headliner Young Thug pulled out of the festival line-up last week, and was replaced with electronic act What So Not.
Laneway Festival 2017 line-up announced
Newshub.
