The ever-trusty folks at Tixel have shielded us from those pesky scammer vultures ahead of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ of Australia.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that scams are the traps that only your parents (and their parents) would fall victim to.
However, in the lead up to Taylor Swift’s mammoth Aussie tour kicking off in Melbourne this week, legions of young fans have found themselves scammed with fake tickets, reactivating the 2022 swindler fears brought on by the infamous Tinder Swindler.
It’s bad enough to miss out on legitimate tickets to your favourite artist, but the sting only worsens when you realise you’ve been scammed by a third party before even having the chance to enter the venue doors.
Take it from this writer, who spent hours in queue for SZA’s tour and almost, out of sheer FOMO, fell prey to a faceless Facebook profile touting suspiciously cheap GA tickets.
That’s where Tixel, known as the go-to site for honest and legitimate ticket resales, comes to the rescue.
Today, they’ve shared their foolproof guide to avoid falling into common ticket-buying traps, and with Swift’s tour just around the corner, it couldn’t come soon enough. Peep the ever-trusty tips below, and head to Tixel’s website here to find out more info.
The seller doesn’t have many mates, or has just selfies on their profile.
While it can seem like you’re doing your due diligence on someone offering tickets on social media, setting up a fake social media account can unfortunately take just a few minutes but end up costing you $$. If they’re friend/follower count is low, their account looks new or their photos look a little suss, they may have spun up an account to obscure their identity and you’d be best avoiding any transactions.
If the seller won’t flash that ticket like a VIP pass, Dip!
The old “They haven’t sent me the ticket yet” excuse, or sending through fake looking tickets is a straight up red flag. If you’re not using a site that can validate the ticket for you, ask for a clear image of the ticket, make sure things like names match and remember, low res usually = low trust.
Watch out for weird payment requests
If they’re asking for shady stuff like wire transfer (hello Anna Delvy) or claiming to have PayID problems that require you to navigate a strange payment process, Dip.
If the seller is flogging tickets at a crazy cheap price.
Dip. C’mon, Don’t take the bait.
If the Seller seems reaaaaal keen.
If the seller’s dropping lines like, “Hurry up, I’ve got a date with another buyer,” and creating more time pressure than a Sydney real estate agent, you better believe that’s fishy. Dip.
Buyer or seller, don’t send photo ID.
You’d be amazed at the number of people that are convinced to send pictures of ID to prove themselves in a transaction — driver’s licences, passports, you name it. Don’t set yourself up to be on the receiving end of the wrath of swindled Swifties.
Selling? You probs need to be careful too.
Not just buyers get scammed. If you’re reselling a ticket, wait until the funds are cleared first (chicken or egg we know, if your buyer wants to see the ticket first/see buyer tip 2 above!), or even better, keep everyone safe by using a trusted marketplace like us, Tixel.
