Taylor Swift fans lose hundreds in scams

BBC culture / Josh Sandiford,Kath Stanczyszyn

Two Taylor Swift fans have spoken out about their experience of losing money after being targeted by ticket scammers.

The US megastar is set to embark on the UK leg of her Eras tour in June.

A report by Lloyds bank last week found Swifties had lost an estimated £1m in scams ahead of the shows.

Two fans told BBC Radio WM they had fallen victim, losing £1,200 between them despite carrying out research.

Gemma Moore, from Rubery, said she thought she was getting tickets on Facebook from a friend of a friend.

But this turned out not to be the case, ultimately costing her £800.

Despite conducting background checks and concluding the seller’s account looked genuine, it had in fact been hacked by a scammer.

Gemma Moore thought she was getting tickets from a friend of a friend/Gemma Moore

“We had a conversation and sent the money then all of sudden we were blocked,” Gemma explained.

She said the tickets were intended for her daughter’s 18th birthday.

“I thought I would justify spending [the money] because it would be a real treat for her,” she added.

“We’ve totally been scammed.”

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock / The two fans lost a combined £1,200 trying to purchase tickets

A second fan, Amanda Beasley, from Stourbridge, said she had also fallen foul of bad actors.

In a similar experience, she lost £400 trying to get tickets for her daughter’s 21st birthday.

Ms Beasley told BBC Radio WM she had also conducted research, but soon discovered something was off after sending money through PayPal.

When she complained to the seller, it quickly became clear what had happened.

Amanda said: “They literally sent me a scripted message saying ‘hi’ and in brackets ‘her name’. They forgot to insert my name.”

Amanda wanted tickets for her daughter’s 21st birthday/Amanda Beasley

The mother added she was most distraught by the fact her daughter would not be able to see her idol.

“I thought she was actually going to be able to go,” Ms Beasley said.

“It’s really upsetting that she’s missing out on that now. I wish I hadn’t told her we got the tickets.”

Buyer protection

The Lloyds Bank report said more than 600 of its customers had come forward to report being scammed, with some losing as much as £1,000.

PayPal said it was unable to comment on individual accounts without express written permission from the account holder.

But the company explained it had a comprehensive buyer protection programme covering purchases that are not as they claim.

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