Alton Towers warns visitors that offer for 60% discount tickets circulating online is a FAKE
The fake website UK Group Deals is advertising a limited-time deal for a park ticket along with a fast track access for £21.20
ALTON Towers has warned potential visitors of a scam circulating on social media that offers claimants cheap tickets to the theme park.
The fake website UK Group Deals is advertising a limited-time deal for a park ticket along with a fast track access for a huge 60 per cent discount at £21.20.
But the company on Twitter warned potential visitors that the deal was a scam.
In a tweet, the firm wrote: "We're aware of this scam circulating the web on 'ukgroupdeals'. This is NOT official or affiliated with Alton Towers Resort in any way."
An Alton Towers Resort spokesman told The Sun Online: "Merlin Entertainments has no affiliation to this website and does not recognise ticket sales through ‘ukgroupdeals’.
"Customers should be warned that this is a fraudulent site and urge not to submit any personal details. We have notified and are working with the relevant authorities to remove this website.”
Users on Twitter quickly noticed that the listing was also poorly worded and featured a picture of the Corkscrew ride, which has now been dismantled.
One user wrote on Twitter: “The bad English is enough to put me off”.
“I like a deal but people need to be more careful when shopping online look after yourself and be safe,” another one said.
“Sorry but anyone who looks through that website properly and buys a ticket deserves what's coming, defunct coaster, basic grammar wrong etc,” a one user commented.
BLOCK IT OUT How to permanently get rid of spam and unwanted emails, texts and phone calls
It is not the first time fraudsters have targeted the popular theme park.
Earlier this month, a bogus offer was circulating on Facebook promising claimants five free passes to the theme park.
But those attempting to claim the phoney tickets needed to fill out a dodgy online questionnaire - a likely attempt at malware.
How to protect yourself from scams
FIRSTLY, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are "verifed" on Facebook and Twitter pages - this means the company will have a blue tick on their profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on an URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it
More stories about the latest dodgy scams and how to avoid them
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