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There’s bad blood between at least two North Vancouver Swifties and online scammers who recently posed as fans who were re-selling coveted tickets to a sold-out Taylor Swift concert.
The two North Shore fans thought they were the lucky ones when they appeared to score tickets being sold on Facebook marketplace.
One fan is now out $1,000 thanks to the online anti-hero, while the other is out $1,800.
In the first case, the victim found the ad for tickets online and contacted the seller, agreeing to pay $1,020 for the tickets, said Const. Mansoor Sahak, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. The victim e-transferred the money and the suspect sent an email with a wallet attachment but no actual instructions for a Ticketmaster transfer. Once the victim inquired further, the suspect stopped responding, leaving the hopeful buyer with sweet nothing.
In the second instance, scammers used the same MO to pull off another scam.
In that case, the Swiftie responded to an ad on Facebook Marketplace for four tickets. The seller and victim agreed on a price of $1,400. The victim e-transferred money to the seller who then requested $400 more. The seller finally sent the tickets to the victim via email but did not provide the passcode to redeem the tickets, according to Sahak.
Shortly after, the seller stopped responding to the victim, who is now out $1,800.
According to police, Taylor Swift ticket scams are a scenario they know all too well.
Usually after an e-transfer payment is made, the “seller” of the purported ticket stops communication and blocks the victim’s account or deletes the fake account, leaving the buyer without money or tickets and trying to shake it off.
Similar scams have been reported across the Lower Mainland and Canada, said Sahak, adding that recently the ticket scam has specifically focused on Taylor Swift tickets.
Because the pop diva’s tickets are so hard to get, “there are a lot of people out there looking for tickets,” he said. “That’s what’s pushing the drive towards the scam.”
Scammers often create multiple Facebook profiles to pull off the scams, he said.
Unless you know the ticket seller personally, it’s probably best to avoid buying such tickets online unless doing so through an authorized resale site, said Sahak.
And even then, “you can never be 100 per cent sure.”
When considering online purchases off sites like Facebook Marketplace, the first thing prospective buyers need to do is calm down, said Sahak. Scammers prey on a sense of urgency, but buyers need to take some time for due diligence.
Sober second thought will probably indicate you knew they were trouble, say police.
And, said Sahak, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
