Police are investigating after The Curse of Oak Island fans and tour organizers on the island were hit by a ticket scam where funds were allegedly embezzled by someone the organizers have “known and trusted for many years”.

The non-profit Friends of Oak Island Society (FOIS) said it was “devastated” after finding out an individual had been fraudulently selling fake tickets for the island’s hugely popular tours.

The perpetrator also reportedly diverted some of the money from real ticket sales into a personal bank account.

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FOIS conducts tours of Oak Island for history buffs and fans of the History channel’s hugely popular The Curse of Oak Island reality documentary show.

The group said in a statement on their website and official social media, “The Friends of Oak Island Society (FOIS) is devastated to learn that we have been the victim of an online ticket scam.

“Worse yet, it appears that the perpetrator is someone we have known and trusted for many years. We can confirm that the individual is no longer associated with Friends of Oak Island in any capacity.”

FOIS said it had contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the matter was now under investigation.

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The statement revealed that the full extent of the damage to both itself and to innocent fans was not yet known as they were “receiving new information every day”.

It went on, “FOIS has not only been financially defrauded, but our reputation has been severely tarnished by the actions of one person seeking to use our name for their own financial benefit.

“As an organization we are angry that someone would intentionally harm our small non-profit society and take advantage of unsuspecting fans looking for tickets to Oak Island.”

Earlier today, the society issued an update saying it would be supporting everyone who was affected by buying tickets through a fake Eventbrite site the perpetrator reportedly set up.

A previous statement said it appeared that the individual “had created an online presence, including an EventBrite page that resembles the Friends of Oak Island’s official EventBrite page”.

It added, “We suspect an individual has been reaching out to people through social media outlets and email lists that were compiled from contacts with people seeking tickets.

“We understand that this individual has been charging $30+ per ticket for our tours and may have been making offers as early as September 2018. We remind everyone that the official FOIS tour ticket site was not live until March 1st, 2019.”

The investigation is still ongoing, but FOIS asked anyone with information to contact the Royal Candadian Mounted Police in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.

Posts on the the society’s official Facebook page and website have details of what actions to take for those who may have been affected.

The Curse of Oak Island Season 7 is expected to return in the fall.