Leaving Cert students are being warned NOT to join, share or invite their friends to the "Leaving Cert Festival 2016 August 17th - VENUE TBA" event page on Facebook. This is because the event is a scam, and Facebook users run the risk of scammers collecting and using their publicly available Facebook information in other scams, being placed on spamming lists, or asked to visit phishing or fraudulent websites in order to buy tickets. The event, which the Facebook user "Leaving Cert Festival" claims will be held on August 17th, in Dublin, Ireland at Marlay Park or a prominent nightclub in the city center, has not been granted permission or issued any event site license by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. And, neither has the Council received an application or will be granting license to stage such a festival.
How the Scam Works
The Facebook posts or pages advertising the event, encourage Facebook users to join, share and invite their friends. But, like thousands of other Facebook Like-Farming or Information-mining scams that we have seen, the festival is a similar scam that is used to gather up potential victims in order to send them messages with links telling them where to buy tickets. But, the links go to phishing websites that steal personal, credit card and other financial information. Therefore, persons who have already attempted to buy tickets are asked to contact their banks and let them know that they unknowingly used their credit cards on a fraudulent or phishing website.
Facebook users, who have already joined, shared or commented on the event, can opt out by clicking here for instructions and going back to the "Leaving Cert Festival 2016" Facebook page to unsubscribe.
The Leaving Cert Festival scam is similar to the the "SLIDE 'N' FLY" that was created by scammers around this same time last year.