NRL Grand Final: Warriors fans hit by ticket scammer

Mrs Russek wanted to shout her two children to the NRL Grand Final. Photo / Brett Phibbs

An Auckland family's excitement over the Warriors' big game yesterday turned to heartbreak after they lost $900 in a ticket scam.

Val Russek, of Manurewa, decided to shout her two adult children a trip to Australia after the Warriors smashed the Storm to qualify for the NRL grand final.

But the family did not make the trip after the website where they bought tickets to the game turned out to be a scam.

Mrs Russek said her daughter, Nicole, offered to buy the trio tickets to the game as her mother was paying for their flights.

"We decided that if we could get tickets, we would fly.

"She went into the lounge and looked through some sites and she said, 'Oh mum, I think I've got some tickets. But I'm a bit concerned because it just didn't seem right'."

Miss Russek paid $900 for what she thought were three tickets via Australian-based website, ticketfinders.com.au.

She did not receive any confirmation or email to say that payment had been received or that the tickets were hers.

They looked at online feedback about the website and found dozens of postings from people saying they had been duped by it.

The next day, Miss Russek contacted her bank about the money and was told it was on hold but there was no way of cancelling the transaction. By Wednesday, it was gone.

Miss Russek was too upset to speak about the ordeal, but her mother said the family was devastated.

"She's down $900 and we're out of a trip," said Mrs Russek.

"We were caught up in the moment, you know."

Last month the Supreme Court in Victoria granted a permanent injunction against Sion Events and its two directors - who run ticketfinders.com.au - after they tried selling tickets to the AFL grand final, despite not being authorised to.

Last year, NSW police were called when a large group of people said the website had taken money without coming up with the goods.

Mrs Russek said the family wanted to let others know of their plight in a bid to warn them for later big events. "You've just got to be so careful. Ensure that the website's legitimate."