The real thing: Taylor Swift’s on stage at Wembley tonight. But check carefully where you’re buying those tickets online
Trading standards has issued a warning to residents about online ticket scams for Euro 24, the Paris Olympics and stadium concerts, like this weekend’s Taylor Swift gigs at Wembley, and music festivals like Glastonbury.
“Fraudulent tickets are often sold on social media, online marketplaces, genuine selling sites or fan forums,” Croydon Council said today.
Croydon’s trading standards has teamed up with National Trading Standards to give residents advice on how to #GetSafeOnline and to report any incidents of ticket fraud. Top tips on buying tickets safely can be found on the Get Safe Online website.
In a ticket scam, the seller tells the buyer they’ll post or email the tickets once the money is transferred to their bank account. But when the tickets do not arrive, the seller is not contactable and often disappears off the websites.
A Croydon resident reported having been scammed out of £14,000 for hospitality tickets to Glastonbury last year. The resident had successfully bought theatre tickets from the seller on social media. The seller then offered hospitality tickets to Glastonbury. The package sounded so great that the resident, together with some of their family and friends, paid for the tickets.
Together, they transferred their money into the seller’s account. That was the last that they saw of their money – the tickets did not arrive and their money was not refunded. The seller stopped replying to messages and disappeared from social media.
“These scams trick online shoppers into thinking they’re dealing with a legitimate contact or company, when it’s actually illegal activity,” council officials warn.
Duff lot: ‘Watch out, H, there’s some dodgy people out there’
“With lots of exciting events happening this summer, it can be tempting to take up offers on social media,” Karen Agbabiaka, Croydon Council’s director of streets and environment, said.
“But however desperate you are to go to an event, get safe online by following this guidance from trading standards.”
The council failed to state what action the public can take against the bunch of guys in white shirts in Frankfurt last night, who claimed to be world-class footballers…
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
