Taylor Swift fans without a ticket for this weekend’s sold-out Dublin concerts have been warned that offers of tickets, particularly at prices that seem too good to be true, could be related to scams.
The US musician’s three Eras Tour dates in the Aviva Stadium sold out in minutes last July with tens of thousands of fans left facing a cruel summer as a result of their inability to get to the top of TicketMaster’s virtual queues.
Bank of Ireland has warned that scammers will have been paying close attention to the story as it unfolded and will be using whatever channels are open to them to try to steal money from desperate Swifties.
Criminals have been using hacked social media accounts and online ads to try to con people out of hundreds of euro – and possibly even more.
“With Taylor Swift playing in Dublin this week and summer festivals kicking off, it’s important that concert goers are alert to fraud,” said the bank’s head of fraud, Nicola Sadlier.
“At times like this, fraudsters are hoping your heart will overrule your head. They are counting on people being so keen to get to see their favourite artist play that they ignore the warning signs and take a chance on the offer of a ticket even if it sounds too good to be true.
“Never, ever take that chance. Our advice is when you are buying online, only buy items from reputable sites.”
Among the red flags people have been encouraged to look for are tickets selling at prices that seem too good to be true or if the seller does not give a buyer the chance to see the tickets or pressurises them into acting quickly. All adverts or messages that pop up on your social media should raise questions.
Anyone who thinks they have been the target of a scam is advised to contact their bank immediately so it can try to take action to stop a fraud in progress and potentially recover the funds involved.
Separately, scam artists have also been targeting the current industrial unrest at Aer Lingus by sending messages to people, hoping to trick those who might be expecting refunds into parting with sensitive financial information.
How Taylor Swift ushered in a new era of exorbitant ticket prices
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
