Ticket scam warning to Sunderland Taylor Swift fans

Tickets for Taylor Swift's 2024 UK tour are on sale from July 17, although some websites are already offering them at hugely inflated prices. With high demand expected, scammers will try to take advantage of fans who miss out.

The singer has no dates scheduled for the North East. But fans from the region will travel to gigs in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff and London. They are urged to be careful. Those who don't get tickets in the general sale may be tempted to try “resellers”.

However, according to consumer magazine Which?: “Fraudsters can create fake websites and images to deceive buyers into thinking they're purchasing legitimate tickets.”

“Did you know that in 2022, £6.7m was lost to ticket fraud? Be cautious of potential ticket scams when purchasing event tickets online.

The magazine has a range of advice for Ticket buyers, including:

Stick to official retailers: It’s always best to buy from official websites. Ticketmaster and AXS are official ticketing partners. In the event of a sell-out, some artists and promoters partner with resale sites such as Twickets, which only allows tickets to be resold at face value or below.

Other resale websites exist, but most aren't affiliated with artists and allow resellers to charge whatever they want.

Only enter official competitions: You should only enter ticket competitions advertised by legitimate brands on official channels and websites. You can use who.is to check when a website was created.

Be alert to scammers on social media: Buying tickets from strangers on social media can leave you open to being scammed. In particular, you should watch out for newly set-up profiles that follow no one or have no followers.

Offers that seem too good to be true – are: When buying tickets for sold-out events, be wary of prices that seem too cheap, as fraudsters may be using these to lure you in.

Don’t pay by bank transfer: Fraudsters will sometimes try to get you to make bank transfers or pay in Bitcoin.

If you’ve lost money to a scammer, call your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card. Report the scam to Action Fraud.