The popularity of comedian Simon Leblanc's show is striking: all of his performances are sold out. If the public knows, the scammers know too.
Fraudsters use it to steal money from people who want to get tickets to his shows.
A Shawinigan woman was duped by a scammer who claimed to be selling two tickets to the April 11 show in Trois-Rivières.
This “Lise Fortin” required an Interac transfer without the possibility of a face-to-face meeting, which was worth $80 for both locations.
“When I made the transfer, she asked me if I had sent it, asked for an answer and five minutes later she blocked me,” described Vicky Leblanc.
TVA Nouvelles tried the experiment and although the information from the show is good, a personal exchange is impossible.
And there are dozens of such fake profiles.
“The basis is to check whether we are sure, for example on the marketplace, how long has the profile existed? Is it a fake profile, was it created a few days or hours ago? Is there actual activity,” explained technology expert François Charron.
This practice is not new, but it is no less frustrating for those who get caught.
“Somewhere there’s someone making money off the backs of artists. It is always a matter of consulting reliable sources such as the venue website or even the artist's website and checking whether it is really his website,” lamented Julie-Anne Richard, general director of the professional association of show presenters RIDEAU.
Simon Leblanc's team is aware of the issue and said it had already filed a complaint, but declined TVA Nouvelles' interview request so as not to give the criminals new ammunition. Victims are increasingly calling for caution on social networks.
Many testimonials are published because it is easy to fall into the trap as these fraudulent profiles change almost daily. One more reason to be particularly careful.