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“It’s me, hi, I’m the problem,” say scammers taking advantage of die-hard Swifties.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned Australian fans of Taylor Swift to beware of scams targeting those who missed out on the popular performer’s upcoming The Eras Tour.
In particular, the National Anti-Scam Centre has observed an increase in scammers using compromised social media accounts, promising tickets – which, of course, are fake – to Taylor Swift gigs to their friends lists.
To date, Australians have already lost more than $135,000 to Swift scammers, and that figure is expected to rise as the date for the tour looms closer. A total of 273 reports regarding such scams have already been made to Scamwatch.
“The Eras Tour is the hottest ticket in town this summer, and scammers are seizing the opportunity to dupe Australian Swifties looking to buy resale tickets,” said ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe in a statement.
“We are working with law enforcement and social media platforms to combat these scams but are concerned that scam activity is only going to increase in the lead-up to Taylor Swift’s arrival in Australia in mid-February.”
The ACCC has shared some details on how the scam works. The compromised accounts are used to make posts on community pages, which are then seen by friends of the owner of the compromised accounts. The scammer offers tickets for sale by saying they are unable to go to a particular show and do not want the tickets to go to waste.
“Once paid for, you’re left without the ticket to the concert and no further contact, only to find out that your friend or acquaintance’s social media profile has been hacked,” the ACCC said.
“This scam is a low act,” said Lowe, “seeking to take advantage of fans, many of whom are young and are desperately trying to secure a ticket to make their dream of seeing Taylor Swift live come true”.
“The safest way to get legitimate tickets to The Eras Tour is by purchasing tickets from the authorised reseller, Ticketek Marketplace.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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