Fans stung for £1000 by internet ticket conmen

May 11 2008

The Road To Manchester

INTERNET conmen are fleecing Rangers fans desperate to get their hands on UEFA Cup final tickets.

One crook advertising batches of tickets on auction site ebay tells bidders the website will not process the transaction.

The conman, calling himself Joseph Wiss, offers to complete the deal privately but once the buyer has sent the money to the Western Union account he specifies, he disappears with the cash.

Forklift driver Steven Keane, of Coalburn, Lanarkshire, sent £1000 to Wiss' account for tickets for himself, girlfriend Doreen Frame and three pals.

Steven, 39, said: "Not only do we not have tickets but we're all £200 down. We're gutted.

"When I went back on ebay he was offering even more tickets to fans. He said he had 10 to spare.

"We've got in touch with ebay to warn them but haven't heard back. We just want to make sure nobody else falls for this guy."

Wiss trades under the ebay name Wurawura - the name of a city in Nigeria, a global centre for internet scams.

He promises to send the tickets immediately by courier but is impossible to contact once he has the cash.

SOME Scots will find Barry Ferguson and the boys' exploits a major turn-off. Here are some alternatives for them on Wednesday.

Scottish Ballet's modern take on Romeo and Juliet at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre.

Acoustic Ladyland whose "genre-defying jazz line-up" is at the Tollbooth, Stirling.

Edinburgh's Stand Comedy Club hosts The Melting Pot showcase of sketches.

Or switch over to the BBC and enjoy The Beechgrove Garden, Child Of Our Time and The Apprentice.