A rise in fraud cases involving Taylor Swift fans desperate to buy tickets to her sold-out UK shows has prompted Lloyds Bank to issue an “urgent warning” after more than 600 of its customers were scammed.
With the superstar due to arrive in Europe next month, the high street bank said its data suggested that UK fans had lost more than £1m to fraudsters so far.
Swift is doing 15 huge shows in Great Britain, made up of eight nights at Wembley Stadium in London, plus three apiece in Liverpool and Edinburgh and one in Cardiff.
The run of shows, which starts in Edinburgh on 7 June, will involve her performing in front of almost 1.2 million people. However, demand for tickets massively outstripped supply when they went on sale last year, prompting many disappointed fans to hunt for them online and on social media. That has created the ideal conditions for scammers to target people with a range of online cons.
Lloyds said an analysis of scam reports made by its customers found there had been a rise in fraud cases involving people attempting to buy tickets for the star’s Eras Tour.
It added that since tickets went on sale last summer, more than 600 customers had come forward to report being scammed, which it said was “significantly more than for any other music artist”.
The average amount lost by each victim was £332, though in some cases it was more than £1,000.
As these figures are based solely on Lloyds Bank’s own customer data, it estimated that across the UK there are likely to have been at least 3,000 victims since tickets went on sale, suggesting more than £1m has been lost to fraudsters so far.
Lloyds said Taylor Swift ticket scams were “flooding” social media, and added that more than 90% of the reported cases started with fake adverts or posts on Facebook, although Facebook Marketplace says the purchase and sale of concert tickets is allowed.
“With all UK dates now sold out, many more fans are likely to fall victim to ticket scams in the coming weeks and months, both leading up to the tour and once the concerts begin in June,” said a spokesperson for the bank.
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Purchase scams involve someone being tricked into sending money via bank transfer to buy concert tickets or other items that do not exist.
Liz Ziegler, the bank’s fraud prevention director, said: “Cruel fraudsters have wasted no time in targeting [Swift’s] most loyal fans as they rush to pick up tickets for her must-see concerts.”
She added: “Buying directly from reputable, authorised platforms is the only way to guarantee you’re paying for a genuine ticket … If you’re being asked to pay by bank transfer, particularly from a seller you’ve found on social media, that should immediately set alarm bells ringing.”
In the UK, the ticketing companies AXS and Ticketmaster run official Taylor Swift ticket resale services, and probably the best advice for would-be buyers is to regularly check these in the coming days and weeks, as there will be people who booked but are now unable to attend because of a holiday, illness or change of circumstances.
Source: theguardian.com
