Bank Issues 'Urgent Warning' After Swifties Are Scammed Out of Over $1 Million on Eras Tour Tickets
SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 10: American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs on stage during the gala of 2019 Alibaba 11.11 Global Shopping Festival at Mercedes-Benz Arena on November 10, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Zhang Hengwei/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
Many Taylor Swift fans are willing to put up a lot of money to secure tickets to her nearly-impossible-to-access Eras Tour, but one bank is issuing an “urgent warning" to Swifties ahead of her stops in the United Kingdom.
Lloyds Bank hopes to prevent desperate fans from coming up with both empty hands and empty pockets after discovering that the singer's fans are being “targeted by a wave of concert ticket scams flooding social media,” per Deadline.
According to the publication, the bank found an uptick in fraud reports from customers served by it, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland since tickets went on sale in July 2023, with more than 600 scams relating to the Eras Tour—notably much more than any other artist—being submitted for reimbursement. Lloyds estimates the average amount lost per victim to amount to $414, though some had over $1,246 stolen.
They estimate that a minimum of 3,000 people have likely fallen victim to fake tickets, with over $1.25 million lost to the schemers—so far.
Unfortunately, seeing as the UK dates are completely sold out—many of them assumedly to resellers, as happened in the United States—the bank expects that "many more fans are likely to fall victim to ticket scams" until her string of concerts in the European locale in June.
The vast majority of the scams began with fake ads or posts on Facebook, even in groups designed specifically to help fans vet and purchase from other fans. People advertise tickets, often with stolen or photoshopped screenshots of ticket orders, and have buyers send money upfront. Once they receive the money, they disappear.
Liz Ziegler, Fraud Prevention Director, Lloyds Bank, advised that “Buying directly from reputable, authorized platforms is the only way to guarantee you’re paying for a genuine ticket. Even then, always pay by debit or credit card for the greatest protection. 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.”
Next: Why Fans Are Jumping to Taylor Swift's Defense the Day Before Her New Album Drops
