Taylor Swift superfans caught in £250 ticket scam

Image source, Family photo

Image caption, Sian Williams and her daughter Efa were left £250 out of pocket

When Sian Williams was offered tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert, she jumped at the chance.

But within seconds of transferring £250, she knew she’d been scammed.

“It makes me angry because it was so realistic,” said the mum-of-two from Gwynedd, who thought she was buying from a trustworthy mutual friend.

Consumer watchdogs are warning others to beware of similarly sophisticated online cons.

Sian had promised her 18-year-old daughter Efa she would take her to see Swift’s The Eras Tour this summer after finishing her A-level exams.

After missing out on the official ticket sale in 2023 – Swift’s show in Cardiff due to take place this June sold out in minutes – she was put in touch with someone who claimed to have four tickets to the US pop idol’s Liverpool date.

“I didn’t think anything of it because it was a friend of a friend,” said Sian, from Blaenau Ffestiniog.

They asked for £500 for four tickets, providing screenshots of each and details about the seating arrangements.

But Sian and Efa’s bank account set-up meant they could only transfer a maximum of £250 at a time, which they began to do after sharing their details with the scammer via Whatsapp.

Sensing something was not right the family then refused to pay the second instalment and instead contacted their bank, which has since started an investigation.

Sian said the scammer “absolutely impersonated” her mutual friend, adding that people should be careful not to do “unwise things in the heat of the moment” because “once that money’s sent it can’t be retrieved”.

“It’s just £250 that’s literally gone to waste,” she added.

“We’re out of pocket and still haven’t got any tickets.”

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Tickets for Taylor Swift’s date in Cardiff in June sold out in minutes

Sian added that, as a seasoned ticket buyer, she thought she was “quite savvy online” but has chosen to share her experience in an effort to prevent it from happening to others.

Also, last month saw 24-year old Indigo Jones from Swansea contacted by friends asking if she was still selling her Taylor Swift tickets.

She quickly realised her social media accounts had been hacked and her profiles used by scammers to advertise tickets that didn’t exist.

“I feel so so guilty, especially because there’s nothing I can do about it other than to try raising awareness about it,” she said.

Indigo added that, while some of her friends were contacted by a hacker posing as her, nobody that she knows of has lost money or been defrauded as a result.

“Personally I think this is something I would have fallen for as well, because it did look so real,” she said.

Emily Seymour, a consumer expert at Which?, described ticket scams such as these as “really common”.

Image source, Getty Images

She added that fraudsters target people “desperate” to see big shows who are “under pressure to make a quick purchase”.

Her advice is to take a moment” before rushing into buying anything and to check that you’re sending your money to a legitimate person.

If you are worried you’ve been victim to an online scam, she suggests contacting your bank to report the fraud as soon as possible and discuss the protections they may provide.

“You can also contact Action Fraud or the police in terms of getting that money back,” she added.

“Unfortunately, if you’ve made a bank transfer, directly paying from your account into somebody else’s, it’s a bit more difficult to get your money back.

“We’d really recommend you don’t use that method of payment.”