The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has filed proceedings in the Federal Court, Sydney against Mr Richard Chen, the operator of a website that allegedly fraudulently mirrored the Sydney Opera House official website.
The website, sydneyopera.org, allegedly purported to be the official booking site of the Sydney Opera House. The site is affiliated with other sites including witestar.com, worldsboxoffice.com and scholarscircle.com, all of which allegedly claim to be booking sites for various entertainment venues worldwide.
The ACCC alleges that several consumers from the United Kingdom and Europe have attempted to purchase tickets through the imitation sites, and whilst their credit cards have been charged for tickets, they have either been overcharged or have not received them.
The ACCC alleges Mr Chen, a resident of New York, operates the site from US-based servers. He has not, to date, responded to the ACCC's proceedings.
The ACCC is currently seeking to have the offending sites removed and has obtained interim court orders to this effect. The temporary orders also prohibit Mr Chen from creating, operating or maintaining similar sites.
People who wish to buy tickets online for events at the Sydney Opera House should visit the official website sydneyoperahouse.com.