How to spot a Taylor Swift ticket scam as fraud reports skyrocket

As Taylor Swift prepares to close out her Eras Tour era in Canada, fans desperate to see the pop star perform live are vulnerable to scams. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received 140 reports of fraudulent Swift tickets this year, most of which came from people who were scammed out of money.

“Once you’ve sent money, it’s very difficult to get those funds back,” said Nancy Cahill, a communications officer with the centre, which is jointly operated by the RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and Competition Bureau.

For that reason, she said, prevention is the best protection. Here are some tips on how to spot a scam.

CONSIDER THE POLICY

At this point, it’s very easy to know which Taylor Swift ticket sales are scams: it’s all of them, at least if the ticket-holder is promising an instant transfer.

Ticketmaster announced earlier this month that ticket transfers for Swift’s sold-out concerts can only start 72 hours before the event. Previously, Swifties could move tickets between Ticketmaster accounts at any time.

It comes after a spike in reported hacks to Ticketmaster accounts.

“If anybody is telling you that they can transfer tickets now, that’s a huge red flag,” said Jagger Long, the owner of ticket resale business Karma Tickets.

Long has put a pause on buying and selling Eras Tour tickets for that reason — though they weren’t a huge part of his business because their astronomical price left them out of reach for most people.

CONSIDER THE PRICE

“If it’s too good to be true, chances are it is too good to be true,” Cahill said.

Swift tickets are a hot commodity, so they’re going for thousands of dollars apiece. Anything less than that and you should be wary, Cahill said.

Likewise, if there’s lots of pressure to act fast, Cahill recommends taking a step back.

“If there’s a sense of urgency to send money because you’re going to miss out, that should be an indicator right there,” she said. “Many times you just stop and think about it and do your homework, and it can save you a lot of sorrow in the end.”

CONSIDER THE PERSON

One of the more common scams targeting Swifties at the moment involves an account takeover, Cahill said. A bad actor will gain access to someone’s social media account — often Facebook — and announce that they have Swift tickets for sale.

It may seem safe because the offer appears to be coming from someone you know, but in reality there are no tickets to be had.

If this happens to you, Cahill recommends reaching out to the prospective seller on a different platform, for instance by text message, or asking some mutual friends to verify whether the tickets are real.

Though it’s not possible to transfer Swift tickets at the moment, ticket reseller Long said he’s developed a system to minimize risk.

He only purchases tickets from people if he can meet them in person to make the online transfer.

He asks for their work email address to co-ordinate as another layer of accountability and then meets them at his bank. A police station is another good meet-up spot, he added.

Most importantly, Long said, he’ll have them transfer the ticket to him before he sends them money.

“Stick to your guns and say, ‘I’m not sending money first.’ I don’t care if this sounds like a great offer or not, that’s the No.1 rule that you have to hold on to.”

As for Long, he then posts the tickets for sale on his website and Facebook group.

He says he’s built a reputation for selling legitimate tickets over the years, and he cautions that would-be ticket buyers should do their due diligence to make sure sellers like him are trustworthy.

“Just be careful, because it does suck hearing about these people, especially when you hear the story afterward,” he said.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press