CBS Miami (05/18/23) Cerullo, Megan

Scammers are trying to exploit fans' frenzy to get seats for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, with the Better Business Bureau warning of at least 20 distinct cases of related fraud. One consumer said a Twitter user offered tickets for sale and requested $800 via mobile payment apps, which turned out to be a scam. Other fraudsters are hacking into Facebook users' accounts to masquerade as them and trick close contacts into transferring them money for nonexistent tickets. "Desperate music and sports fans can fall for scams involving tickets because they want to go so much that they make bad decisions they wouldn't normally make," stated Teresa Murray at U.S. Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) Education Fund. PIRG advises consumers to steer clear of purchasing event tickets through marketplaces like Facebook, Instagram and Craigslist, where scammers may be lurking. Buying tickets from strangers is also to be avoided, and fans should instead purchase them from a verified agency. PIRG also urges against buying tickets through payment services like Zelle, Venmo or PayPal, as their lack of responsibility for scams makes it impossible to recoup money lost to fraud. It is also better to buy tickets with a credit card than a debit card as the former usually has more safeguards under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

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