Taylor Swift had an incredible 2023 with her Eras Tour taking the music world by complete storm. With her thrilling performance in dozens of countries all over the globe, Swift even emerged as the Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year. Now, the singer-songwriter is geared up for another portion of her world tour in May, which will continue throughout the summer. Ahead of the popstar’s tour, fans are having a hard time as they get hit by a wave of concert ticket scams.
Lloyd Bank, on Wednesday, estimated that more than 3,000 victims have been tricked into buying fake tickets since July last year. These victims have lost approximately $1.24 million to fraudsters pretending to offer Taylor Swift concert tickets so far, as per the British bank. Issuing a warning, the bank further noted that more than 600 Lloyds Banking Group customers have so far reported to be scammed. As reported by the Times of India, the average amount lost by each victim of the scam is £332 (around Rs 34,000). In some cases, the amount of the loss also exceeded Rs 1 lakh. The bank further highlighted that more than 90 per cent of reported cases had individuals duped by Facebook pages.
Lloyds, in a statement as quoted by the Independent, warned, “Fans aged 25 to 34 who are trying to get their hands on sold-out tickets are most likely to be targeted, with many scams originating on social media.” It added that a wider look at the scams suggests that the fans of major artists such as Coldplay, Beyonce, and Harry Styles were among those targeted last summer.
Notably, the scams involve fake advertisements on social media platforms, offering tickets at lesser prices than the original ones for the events already sold out at the inflated prices. Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director, Lloyds Bank, said, “Don’t be tempted to buy tickets from anyone other than authorised sellers, as your rights can be significantly reduced if something goes wrong. If you are buying tickets, we recommend you pay using your credit card if the tickets cost more than £100, or by PayPal, as both these methods may provide protection if something goes wrong.”
Meanwhile, Swift’s Eras Tour will resume on May 9 in Paris. The European tour will conclude on August 20 in London. On the other hand, the US dates for the concert will start in October.
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