UK swifties have lost £1 million due to Eras Tour ticket scams

Taylor Swift fans are being targeted by ticket scams on social media as the Eras Tour prepares to head to the UK this summer. The analysis comes from Lloyds Bank, and they’ve found that scam reports made by its own customers had a surge in fraud cases from those buying tickets for the already sold out tour.

 With all UK dates now sold out, Lloyds Bank warns that many more fans are likely to fall victim to ticket scams, leading up to the tour and once the concerts begin in June.

Tickets went on sale last July, and more than 600 customers have reported they’d been scammed. Lloyds Bank states that this amount is higher than the average music artist. The average amount lost by each victim was £332, but in some cases it was more than £1,000.

These figures are only based on Lloyds Bank’s own customer data, and it estimates that across the UK there are likely to have been at least 3,000 victims since tickets went on sale, with over £1 million being lost to fraudsters so far.

 According to the data, over 90% of these scams started on Facebook Marketplace. A fake ad would be posted in unofficial groups of people looking to buy or sell tickets.

Source: Lloyds Bank

How do concert ticket scams work?

 Lloyds found that the number of reported scam cases relating to concert tickets more than doubled last summer (up by +158%).

 Among the other major artists targeted last summer were Coldplay, Harry Styles, and Beyonce. Across all of these concert ticket scams, victims were losing £133 on average.

The scams work by victims being tricked into sending money via bank transfer to buy the non-existent tickets. On social media, the scams usually start off as fake ads, posts or listings that offer tickets or access to events which have already sold out at inflated prices. Victims are usually asked to pay upfront, and then the scammer will disappear.

Lloyds provided ways to make sure you’re safely buying concert tickets:

• Buy from trusted retailers – only buy tickets from well-known, official ticket selling (or reselling) platforms. Take extra precautions when buying tickets from third-party sellers.

• Be careful  on social media – you don’t know if the user profile or tickets are genuine. It’s easy for fraudsters to create fake ads including pictures of real tickets.

• Avoid deals that look too good to be true – tickets for sale at low prices or for sold-out events should ring alarm bells. Ask yourself if the deal seems realistic.

• Pay with your debit or credit card – this helps to protect your money should something go wrong. PayPal is another option that’s usually safer than paying by bank transfer.