Bank issues warning as Fake ticket scams double in 2023

October 30, 2023

What is a FakeTicket Scam?

Fake ticket scams are on the rise, according to a new warning issued by high-street bank Santander.

It warned that the number of Ticket Scams reported so far this year has more than doubled in comparison to the same period in 2022.

Between 1^st January and 31^st July 2023, the number of cases reported by Santander customers was 1,905. This is a huge increase from the 789 cases reported in 2022.

Santander says the average claim from victims was £107.

Concert and festival tickets are the highest reported claims and accounted for 47% of all claims made. Tickets for football games accounted for 17%, whilst flight tickets made up 7% of all claims.

The data also showed that customers aged between 19-34 were most likely to become victims of Ticket Scams as they accounted for 60% of all claims made.

Santander says that 67% of its customers, who were victims of Ticket Scams, said their scam originated on social media.

And we reported in May that TSB said that 60% of the purchase fraud cases it was aware of took place on Facebook Marketplace.

A Ticket Scam happens when a scammer sells either a fake ticket for an event or a ticket that never existed in the first place. This could either be via a fake ticket website or through a social media post or profile.

After you have purchased the ticket it’s likely that one of the following will happen:

• The ticket will never arrive,
• Someone arranges to meet you to give you the ticket, but they won’t show up
• Or you receive a ticket but it turns out to be fake.

It’s also likely that you will be unable to contact the seller after they have received your money.