Avoiding Ticket Resell Scams
- uplikealadder
- Jun 5, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 13, 2023
*Disclaimer: this post is based on my research and personal experiences only. I am in no way responsible if you get scammed. There is no way to know all scams out there, and I do not claim that I know every scam. I am simply providing information on what I have found. I personally have stopped interacting with these comments on social media all together.*
There are a lot of scammers out there claiming to have tickets that they are selling to Taylor Swift concerts. I urge you to be extremely cautious. I know we are all desperate for tickets, but in my opinion, peer-to-peer ticket sales are not worth the risk of potentially getting scammed. I do not interact with these comments/commenters.
Scammer Red Flags
Almost all on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook/Reddit are fake
They leave comments on everyone's posts talking about Taylor Swift tickets
They say they just got tickets from someone on Instagram
Won't take PayPal Goods & Services [G&S] (some scammers will say they will)
Send screen recordings/screenshots as proof (these can be easily spoofed)
They reach out to you (not you to them)
Their twitter feed is just tons of recently re-tweeted Taylor Swift related posts
Will offer or accept for you to pay half then pay the rest
Offers to use PayPal G&S, but required you to confirm receipt of tickets before actually receiving them
Offer to use Eventbrite instead of Ticketmaster
Offers very inexpensive tickets
Tries to transfer tickets via StubHub
Tries to transfer tickets via ANYTHING other than Ticketmaster
Best Practices
Only use PayPal Goods & Services
Ask them to video call you to provide proof (don't give out your personal phone number)
My Personal Experience
When I first began looking for last minute tickets, I did not realize how many scams were out there. After seeing a post from someone on Reddit that claimed to be selling tickets, I began engaging with them. They had a valid, legitimate looking Facebook and Instagram.
When they messaged me on Instagram, They sent a screen recording showing them move from our messages to Ticketmaster, scroll through the tickets, and showed the transfer tickets prompt, then went back to our messages.
I said I wanted two and asked if they took PayPal. They said they only had Venmo (at the time I did not know this was a red flag). They denied Paypal G&S even if I paid the fees. I started to get a little worried, so I thought I would ask for a voice chat on Instagram. They promptly responded that whatever verification I was trying to do doesn't matter because if they wanted to scam me, they would just scam me, but that they would never do that to me (lol). They insisted they were the right person and would never try to scam someone.
They sent me a screen shot to confirm my email was correct on their ticket transfer screen shot. After I realized that this was likely a scam, I backed out. They had claimed to already have transferred me the ticket, and sent me a "confirmation" screenshot.
I told them I saw no tickets, they asked if I was sure I had a verified Ticketmaster account, to which I said yes. Then they asked if I had an Eventbrite because they could send them there as well (huge red flag). I insisted we cancel the entire transaction, which they were not happy about. I just stopped answering.
Recent Update
Some people have begun to ask outrageous questions of potential scammers to attempt to deduce if the seller is real. Such as if the seats are underneath the stage, or if they are selling for night 5 (when there are only 3 nights). This could potetionally be telling as well.
Example Scam Comment:
*Disclaimer: this post is based on my research and personal experiences only. I am in no way responsible if you get scammed. *
Thanks for Reading!
For a general "How-to" with more information on different steps of the last minute Ticketmaster ticket drops, see this blog post.
Have any suggestions for blog posts on topics you'd like to learn more about? DM me on twitter @UpLikeALadder ! Follow me for tips, tricks, and updates on last minute ticket drops.
DM me on twitter with questions & I will start an FAQ page! @UpLikeALadder
