Like hundreds of different Australian mums, Rachel Chappell continues to be desperately attempting to safe tickets to the Taylor Swift live shows going down in Sydney subsequent month.
It’s a gut-wrenching and seemingly fruitless job, because the Sydney mom – who based and runs the favored Facebook group and web site North Shore Mums – needs to buy them for her eight-year-old daughter, Ella.
Speaking to 9honey, Chappell says she thought the toughest half can be shedding out on Swift tickets earlier than the live shows in February. Little did she know, there are merciless scammers keen to prey on dad and mom on-line.
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“I wanted to get tickets for my daughter, she’s just absolutely desperate and all she talks about is wanting to go,” Chappell explains.
“I spent days when the tickets were on sale with multiple browsers, trying to buy real tickets with no luck.”
Chappell thought her luck had turned when she noticed a submit in her North Shore Mums Facebook group promoting 4 Taylor Swift tickets for February 25 at Accor Stadium in Sydney. The vendor wanted $309 per ticket and Chappell was more than pleased to pay.
The vendor’s profile appeared authentic and after chatting on Facebook Messenger, Chappell agreed to pay half of the ticket worth first ($618) and the rest as soon as the tickets have been emailed.
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“I said, ‘Look I feel a bit nervous about this’ and she agreed that I’d transfer half now and then she’d transfer the tickets immediately after via the Ticketek wallet,” Chappell recollects.
“She said, ‘I have to trust you too’. It was a legitimate conversation and she used clever language.”
Indeed, Chappell put her belief within the vendor – who she assumed was one other Sydney mum because the profile was a longtime member of her Facebook group.
Once she’d despatched the primary half of the cash through PayPal, the primary “red flag” grew to become clear.
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“I’m about to transfer all 4 tickets now and it’s asking for name change fee which is just $75 each so that’s $300,” the following message from the vendor learn.
“Same bank details, and once done send me a screenshot and I will transfer tickets immediately.”
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Chappell says this message triggered a “sickening feeling”. Was she being scammed? Nothing on Google appeared to confirm that Ticketek had such a dear switch payment coverage.
To strive and resolve it, she messaged the vendor once more.
“Please prove me wrong. I have a sick feeling that I have been scammed,” she wrote. “If you can please get the tickets to me by 5pm or refund the $618 to me – PayID is xxx. If I don’t get a reply then I’ll be going public to warn others…”
Chappell hoped it was a misunderstanding and that the vendor would reply in the end. By 5pm, she nonetheless hadn’t heard something from the lady. She says it then sunk within the tickets have been by no means going to land in her inbox.
“That’s when the penny dropped,” she says. “I never heard back from them, I have since blocked them.”
She was out $618, with no Taylor Swift tickets to present for it.
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Chappell then referred to as her financial institution and reported the switch she’d simply put via. She says the financial institution stated it can try to strive and block the cost, which was to an ANZ account, nevertheless it may take up to six weeks.
“They advised me this was so common and they were getting many calls a day about similar scams. They also told me to stop all communications with the person.”
Chappell has additionally reported the vendor’s profile to Facebook, however as of January 19, it stays energetic. She has additionally reported the occasion to NSW Police and Scamwatch.
9honey has contacted NSW Police.
Chappell says the rip-off appeared so authentic and is nervous different Australians will endure the identical destiny.
“Trying to get tickets… you’re just emotional and excited and I thought I’d finally got these tickets for my daughter,” she says. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”
In a press release shared with 9honey, a spokesperson for Meta, the mum or dad firm of Facebook, advisable customers report any suspicious exercise in the event that they consider they’ve been scammed.
“We were not aware of this particular scam, however scammers are always trying to use methods that will get people to respond,” the spokesperson stated.
“Scammers present a challenge in any environment, including social media. Meta is constantly tackling scams through a combination of technology, such as new machine learning techniques and specially trained reviewers, to identify content and accounts that violate our policies.”
“We encourage people to use our in-app reporting tools when they see any suspicious activity.”
A spokesperson for Scamwatch additionally advised 9honey: “The National Anti-Scam Centre is aware of reports of scams associated with Taylor Swift tickets circulating on social media.
“This has been notably prevalent in NSW and Victoria. We have acquired stories of tickets being bought on social media the place accounts have been compromised by scammers.”
Protection recommendation
- For excessive demand occasions, shoppers want to proceed with warning. These occasions can appeal to fraudulent actions together with ticket scalping, reselling at inflated costs and prison behaviour together with scams.
- The ACCC recommends that buyers buy tickets from an authorised ticket vendor to guarantee they buy authentic tickets.
- Buying tickets via social media is excessive danger, even when it is from somebody you recognize, as accounts could be compromised by scammers.
- Always look for safe cost choices similar to PayPal or Apple/Google Pay quite than offering your bank card particulars to the vendor. Paypal offers details about scams to customers on its web site. Scammers usually ask you to pay by non-secure cost strategies similar to wire, financial institution or worldwide funds transfers, cash orders, pre-loaded reward playing cards, and cryptocurrency. It’s uncommon to recuperate cash despatched this method.
- Be alert to the truth that scams exist. When coping with uninvited contacts from folks or companies, whether or not it is over the telephone, by mail, e mail, in particular person or on social media, at all times think about the likelihood that the strategy could also be a rip-off.
If you will have fallen sufferer to this rip-off, report it to Scamwatch right here.
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