Lloyds Bank warns customers after £1m lost to Taylor Swift ticket scam
Taylor Swift fans are thought to have lost £1m to fake ticket scams ahead of her upcoming Eras tour.
Lloyds Bank has issued a warning to fans, saying that more than 600 of its customers have come forward so far to report being scammed.
The figures were based on analysis of purchase scams reported by customers of the banking group in the year to March, where Swift or the Eras Tour – which kicks off in the UK this summer – were referenced as part of the claim.
The average amount lost by each victim was £332, though in some cases the loss was more than £1,000, the bank said.
It estimated that across the UK there are likely to have been at least 3,000 victims since tickets went on sale, with over £1m being lost to fraudsters so far.
Fans aged 25 to 34 who are trying to get their hands on sold-out tickets were the most likely to be targeted, data showed.
Fans of major artists such as Coldplay, Beyoncé and Harry Styles are also being targeted. Across all concert ticket scams, victims are losing £133 on average.
Purchase scams can happen when someone is tricked into sending money via bank transfer to buy goods or services that do not exist or are of far lower quality than they were led to believe. Ticket scams often involve fake adverts, posts or listings on social media, often offering tickets or access to events that have already sold out.
Victims are asked to pay up-front for the tickets, but once the payment is made, the scammers disappear. This leaves the buyer without the tickets and out of pocket.
When tickets for an event are scarce, fraudsters know they can cash in on eager fans willing to pay much more, by falsely claiming to have tickets for sale. There are often two waves of fraud – the first when tickets go on sale and the second around the time an event takes place, according to experts.
Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Cruel fraudsters have wasted no time in targeting Taylor’s most loyal fans as they rush to pick up tickets for her latest tour.
“It’s easy to let our emotions get the better of us when we find out our favourite artist is going to be performing live, but it’s important not to let those feelings cloud our judgement when trying to get hold of tickets.”
Last year Taylor Swift’s image was used in an AI-generated deepfake scam video endorsing a fake Le Creuset cookware “giveaway”. A video shared across various social media platforms purported to show the singer urging her fans to hand over their bank details for a chance to win one of 3,000 cookware sets.
In the deepfake clip using Swift’s likeness, the AI-generated voice said: “Hey y’all, it’s Taylor Swift here. Due to a packaging error, we can’t sell 3,000 Le Creuset cookware sets. So I’m giving them away to my loyal fans for free.
“If you’re seeing this ad, you can get a free cookware set today – but just a heads-up, there are a few rules.”
Victims were invited to provide their bank details, but Le Creuset confirmed the giveaway was bogus.
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