Four arrested after fraud team probe into sport and music tickets scam

The three men and a woman were held at addresses across London and in Waltham Abbey, Essex, on suspicion of fraud by false representation.

The move came after an investigation into a criminal gang that set up worldwidetickets.com and gigsport.com.

The two websites sold tickets for the Reading Festival and concerts featuring global stars such as the Black Eyed Peas and Michael Bubl.

Evidence has also been collated from 265 complaints that were received by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, part of the National Fraud Authority (NFA).

They found that the scams' victims had been swindled out of an estimated 40,000.

One woman flew from South Africa to the UK having paid 1,800 for three Wimbledon Centre Court tickets.

An NFA spokesman said: "A case like this shows the importance of the public reporting fraud and how this contributes to an effective enforcement response."