Photo Credit: Samuel Regan-Asante
As millions of fans rush to secure Taylor Swift tickets, opportunities for scams abound. Here’s how to keep yourself safe online.
Ticketmaster’s terrible presale process has left many fans turning to secondary ticket sites to get their fix. Here are some important things to keep in mind when buying tickets. If you see a deal that’s too good to be true, it probably is.
“Scammers can lure consumers with enticing, low prices only for them to realize the ticket was fake when it comes time to attend the event,” warns the Cleveland Better Business Bureau. Meanwhile, the Boston Police Department is warning Swifties to only purchase tickets from “authorized agencies” to avoid fake tickets.
“Purchasing via other means creates the potential for possessing an invalid or counterfeit ticket,” the BPD told its Twitter followers. So if counterfeit tickets are such a problem – where can you buy real Taylor Swift tickets?
Secondary markets like StubHub are generally safe, but tickets for the Eras tour are massively inflated. Some dates have tickets available for $17,000 to $35,000 depending on the location in the stadium. The average ticket reseller price on StubHub seems to be around $600, though. Both Vivid Seats and Seat geek are also recommended sites by the Better Business Bureau.
The BBB encourages consumers to review any ticket site’s policies when it comes to transactions, though. Only purchase concert tickets with a credit card so you can easily get your money back. Avoid resellers who ask for gift cards, a wire transaction, or cash, as it is impossible to get your money back from those avenues.
After you receive your physical copy of the ticket, you should examine it thoroughly. Does anything look out of place? Are all the details for the event correct? Are there any glaring spelling errors? Can you read everything on the front of the ticket? Fake tickets are often noticeable upon inspection of these details.