Byron Music Festival Responds To Fake Festival Scamming Punters

Byron Music Festival organisers have been forced to address a fake festival profile that’s appeared on social media that resembles the event’s presence and has scammed punters out of their money.

“Byron Music Festival wishes to advise customers and the general public that scammers have set up a phoney BMF page on Instagram, selling fake tickets and offering a Weekend Escape to the Festival,” organisers wrote on Facebook on Wednesday night (31 May).

Organisers shared the warning sign of the scam, continuing, “The page mimics a genuine Byron Music Festival post offering that prize, but the scam post is aimed at defrauding anyone who ‘enters’.”

The post then urges anyone who has received the “winning” message to not respond and certainly not provide any credit card or banking details. “Byron Music Festival has taken every action to halt these fraudulent activities and regrets any confusion or inconvenience that they may have caused.”

The scamming account’s Instagram handle is @byronmusic.festival, while the only official Byron Music Festival account is @byronmusicfest.

This year’s Byron Music Festival takes place at Dening Park, Byron Bay, on Saturday, 17 June and boasts a line-up starring Caravãna Sun, Dusty Boots, Hussy Hicks, Luke Morris And The Heavy Hitters, Hayley Grace & The Bay Collective, and many more. 

It’s an all-ages event, with 50% of booking fees donated to local charity partners (Byron Youth Service and Bay FM). The rest will be donated to Humanitix chosen children's charities.

Byron Music Festival is described as an event that reinvigorates the local entertainment industry and provides an opportunity for the whole community to come together and celebrate the incredible music scene.

You can buy tickets to the 2023 Byron Music Festival here.

While a different scam to this one, in 2019, FOMO Festival organisers issued a statement warning fans against purchasing from resale sites. 

Within hours of pre-sale for Lizzo’s shows selling out, tickets for the Forum Melbourne show had begun showing up on resale sites including StubHub and Viagogo, with the cheapest on offer at $443 and going for up to $499. 

FOMO Festival responded by launching their Dob In A Scalper initiative, urging punters to only purchase from authorised retailer Ticketmaster and report tickets sold anywhere else.