Stay safe from a cruel summer: be alert to ticket fraud ahead of this summer’s top events

Festival and concert goers looking to get last minute tickets to this summer’s top events are urged to be on their guard against fraudulent sellers, as new data reveals £6.7 million was lost to ticket fraud last year.

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, has launched a ticket fraud awareness campaign, warning people to be alert to fraudsters trying to catch out people planning for popular and sold-out events. 

Last year more than 8,700 people reported they had been a victim of ticket fraud, with a total of £6.7 million lost. This works out to an average loss of £772 per victim. 

The warning comes ahead of the Glastonbury Festival ticket resale and before top summer events, such as Taylor Swift’s sell out Eras tour.

How to protect yourself from ticket fraud:

• Only buy tickets from the venue’s box office, the promoter, an official agent or a well-known and reputable ticket exchange site.

• Avoid paying for tickets by bank transfer, especially if buying from someone unknown. Credit card or payment services such as PayPal give you a better chance of recovering the money if you become a victim of fraud.
• The password you use for your email account, as well as any other accounts you use to purchase tickets, should be different from all your other passwords. Use three random words to create a strong and memorable password, and enable 2-step verification (2SV).
• Be wary of unsolicited emails, texts or adverts offering unbelievably good deals on tickets.
• Is the vendor a member of Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR)? If they are, the company has signed up to their strict governing standards. STAR also offers an approved Alternative Dispute Resolution service to help customers with outstanding complaints. For more information visit star.org.uk/buy_safe.

For more information on how to protect yourself from fraud, click here.