RUGBY WORLD CUP:WORLD CUP organisers have moved to assure supporters that fake ticket websites are "relatively under control", as an Irishman fears he has been duped out of several thousand euro.

A Rugby World Cup Ltd official confirmed they were aware of only three people who had bought tickets through bogus websites, compared with 100,000 transactions through the official one.

“Rugby World Cup Ltd has already sent several formal cease and desist letters to the available addresses we have for them and will continue to investigate what can be done to stop them from a legal perspective,” a statement confirmed.

This comes too late for one Irish supporter though, whose World Cup plans are potentially ruined after paying thousands of dollars to an unofficial website claiming to be selling tickets. Paul O’Brien, 30, an Irish Navy engineer who lives in Cork, applied for tickets for several Ireland games through worldcup2011.com, a domain run by a Norway-registered firm known as Euroteam.

He said he mistook the site for rugbyworldcup.com – the only official website for ticket sales – and gave his credit card details, buying tickets for the Ireland team’s four pool games and two of the quarterfinal matches. He was charged €3,600 (NZ$6,243) for the tickets. Official tickets would have cost him around NZ$4,100.

O’Brien believes he will never see the tickets after doing an internet search on the Norwegian company. He said, “I can’t see those tickets being delivered. You have to be realistic about it.”

His credit card issuer, the Bank of Ireland, has disputed the transaction, but has told him he must wait until the September delivery date for the tickets has passed before it can investigate.

Rugby NZ 2011’s general manager for marketing and communications Shane Harmon said no provision had been made to help fans who bought tickets through unofficial websites and then failed to receive them.

“Our very strong advice is to avoid disappointment and purchase (tickets) through official channels,” he said.