Taylor Swift fans longing to see the Eras Tour in Europe or North America should beware of scammers getting creative to lure them into spending hundreds and thousands on fake tickets.
“Any large influx of people, money and attention to one area will be a lightning rod for attackers,” says Dr. Andrew Reeves, a psychologist and researcher for the University of Adelaide in Australia. Reeves studied scams during the first year of the Eras Tour. He looks for ways scammers leverage human vulnerabilities to launch their attacks.
“We expected that attackers would be sending phishing emails saying that there’s tickets on sale or maybe there’s a problem with your tickets and click here to resolve,” he says. “But the most common was they were masquerading as your friends or hacking into people’s accounts that you know on social media and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got a ticket to the Eras Tour and I can’t go anymore.’”
That exact scenario happened to Nikki Duplessis right after Christmas in Merthyr Tydfil, United Kingdom. She wanted to take her sister to the concert.
“Taylor has helped us work through the trauma of losing our mum,” she said.
A friend tagged Duplessis in the comments section of a mutual friend’s Facebook post selling three tickets to the Liverpool, England, show on June 14 for £188 ($233) each.
“The person messaged me on Facebook Messenger, and I sent the money,” Duplessis said, showing screenshots of the exchange. “And then I was blocked. The account had been hacked.”
Duplessis reported the transaction to her bank but was unable to get her £564 ($699) back. She still doesn’t have tickets to the show.
“There is one element that is specific to Taylor and plays perfectly into an attacker’s playbook, which is attackers love to make people scared and think quickly,” Reeves said. “They want people to act impulsively and not think, ‘Should I do this?’”
Dazen Vrilla counted days and counted miles to see Swift perform in Singapore. The Indonesian journalist tried to get tickets when they were released on Ticketmaster but had no luck securing seats to the only concert stop in Southeast Asia.
“I turned 30 in December and I told my best friend that I don’t care what you do, I want a ticket to Taylor Swift for my birthday,” she said over WhatsApp.
Her best friend had a friend, Shania Sisilia, with an extra ticket purchased from a third party. Vrilla and Sisilia met months before the Singaporean concert at the Eras Tour movie.
“I trusted her because my friend introduced me to her and I trusted him,” Vrilla said. The two ventured to Singapore and met at the Changi Airport, recording videos of their journey to National Stadium.
Vrilla was afraid to think about the possibility the tickets weren’t real. Sisilia purchased the tickets for five million Indonesian Rupiah (about $315) each and had them transferred to her Apple Wallet.
The two walked up to the stadium in their sparkly outfits.
“It was the moment of truth, and I thought, ‘Oh God, please don’t fail me, please don’t fail me,” Vrilla said. The light that would flash green if the tickets were legitimate did not.
Sisilia broke down in tears. As they figured out what to do next, they witnessed many others get turned away including Americans who flew 10,000 miles with false tickets.
“We noticed maybe about 50 people get turned away at our gate,” Vrilla says. “I think the reason many people got scammed is most of the Singapore audience came from overseas.”
Heartbroken, Vrilla and Sisilia “Taylorgated” with other fans outside of the stadium, dancing and singing to Swift’s voice. Vrilla posted a video on Instagram of the scam that went viral, and the Swifties of Indonesia came to the rescue.
“I got a WhatsApp link sent to me,” Vrilla said. “There was an entire group of people going to the concert, and after they heard my situation, they found both of us tickets on April 7. We paid face value.”
Vrilla got a VIP seat on the floor for $1,200, and because she’s an investigative reporter, she tracked down the scammer and got her money back.
“It’s the greatest concert I’ve ever been to,” she said. “I know it doesn’t happen for everyone, but it worked out.”
There are 69 shows left in 2024 as Swift continues her global conquest through Europe and North America. As the number of concerts dwindles, scam opportunities may increase. Be vigilant and empathetic with anyone you know who falls victim.
“A hack can happen to anyone,” Reeves said. “It could happen to me, even though I work in the industry. Don’t shame people if they fall victim because we need people to speak out about the attacks so that other people are aware of the methods and stop the scammers in their tracks.”
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