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Rolling Stones fans warned over fake tickets

Swedish Rolling Stones fans may not get any satisfaction from their tickets to see the rockers in action, after police announced that scores of fake ones were being circulated.

Rolling Stones fans warned over fake tickets
Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Ronnie Wood are coming to Stockholm on July 1st 2014. Photo:The Rolling Stones/Mark Seliger/File

The British icons are due to perform at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm on (Ruby) Tuesday July 1st. Tickets went on sale on March 28th with prices ranging from 650 kronor ($100) to 1,495 kronor. 

Demand to see band has been high with fraudsters also taking a keen interest in ripping off fans. Swedish police have noticed that hundreds of counterfeit tickets were doing the rounds, with officers urging Stones devotees to be vigilant. 

"The tickets are so well made that the fraudsters won't hesitate to post them to you so you can have a look at them before you pay. It makes them seem trustworthy but it's just a trick," Anders Olofsson of Sweden's national fraud squad said in a statement.

Would-be concert goers have been told to look out for blurred writing on the concert tickets, particularly on the smaller text, which may indicate a fake ticket. Olofsson added that fans should be extra careful when buying tickets second-hand, often for exorbitant prices.

"You should always consider if the price and conditions are reasonable…it is very easy to be deceived," he said.

On Swedish buy-sell site Blocket tickets for the Stockholm show are going for as high as 3,000 kronor, more than than double the original asking price for the most expensive seats for the gig.

Olofsson warned that concerts by big acts like the Stones are frequently targeted by fraudsters, with fans often keen to part with large sums of money to see their heroes. He suggested that in order to avoid a shock, customers' best bet was to buy them from a recognized outlet, such as Live Nation. 

"Buy the tickets at the nearest established retailer," he said.

The Local/pr 

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COUNTERFEIT

Chinese police crack down on fake Lego ring

Chinese police have dismantled a ring accused of manufacturing some $30 million worth of counterfeit Lego sold across the country, authorities said.

Chinese police crack down on fake Lego ring
A Star Wnrs set made by Lepin. Photo: Fred Dufour/AFP
Police earlier this week raided the premises of Lepin — a Chinese toymaker manufacturing Lego knockoffs in the southern city of Shenzhen — arresting four people, Shanghai police said on Friday.
 
“In October 2018, the Shanghai police found that Lepin building blocks available on the market were extremely similar to that of Lego,” the statement said.
   
The toys were copied from Lego blueprints and sent to a factory in Shenzhen to be manufactured before they were sold all over China.
 
“Across more than 10 assembly lines, over 90 moulds had been produced… (police seized) some 630,000 completed pieces worth more than 200 million yuan ($30 million),” the statement said. 
   
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Images from the Tuesday raid — posted on official law enforcement social media accounts — showed moulds and boxes that looked remarkably similar to lines produced by the Danish toy giant. 
   
A Star Wars knock-off is called “Star Plan”, while sets released in conjunction with the new “Lego Movie 2” have also been copied and sold under the name “The Lepin Bricks 2”. 
   
The counterfeit products could be a safety concern for consumers, said Lego's China and Asia Pacific vice president Robin Smith, the official Xinhua news agency reported. 
   
Foreign companies have long complained about lax intellectual property enforcement in China where counterfeiting is rampant.
 
In an attempt to end its trade war with Washington, Beijing has pledged to clamp down on intellectual property infringements.
 
The knockoffs are popular in a price-conscious market: a small city-themed Lepin set retails for $3 a box, whereas similar Lego sets start at $15.  
   
A check by AFP showed that the imitation sets were still available on e-commerce platform Taobao on Saturday afternoon. 
   
The Danish toy giant in February opened its first flagship store in Beijing — which features replicas of the Forbidden City made of plastic bricks — and has two other shops in Shanghai. 
   
Lego has in recent years seen a renewed popularity thanks to premium collectors' editions and a movie tie-up. 
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