Oasis fans among most targeted in ticket scams, says UK bank

One of the UK’s largest high street lenders has released an advisory to warn hundreds of Oasis fans looking for tickets as they have been some of the most scammed people in the region right now.

The scamming operation started after the announcement of the band’s reunion performances this year. Oasis is a British rock band recognised for their anthemic sound and major influence on 1990s Britpop, led by the Gallagher brothers.

Lloyds Bank revealed that Oasis fans account for about 70% of all reported concert ticket scams since August. These incidents became concerning as victims suffered an average loss of £346, with some losing up to £1000.

Moreover, the scam operators allegedly targeted people aged 35 to 44 since they are 31% of all the victimised cases handled by the financial institution.

 

Oasis fans may have fallen victim to ticket purchase scams that involve the use of the APP.

 

Investigations revealed that the ticket purchase scams targeting Oasis fans were authorised push payment (APP) fraud, in which a scammer socially manipulates a victim into sending money. Additional instances include investment and romance fraud.

Additionally, nearly 90% of scams start on social media. Some notable vectors of these scams are fraudulent Facebook advertising or posts designed to deceive victims into paying upfront for tickets that do not exist.

However, the lender insisted that the fact that so many cases begin with fraudulent listings on social media often leads to a violation of the platforms’ own rules. This flawed system shows the necessity of these businesses taking tougher action to combat fraud.

Therefore, ticket buyers, especially concert and eventgoers, should buy theirs from trustworthy websites since this is the best way to pay for a legitimate ticket. Furthermore, users should know that paying for a ticket via bank transfer is a red flag, especially if the seller advertises the product on social media.

As of last month, new Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) guidelines will require banks to repay clients who have been victims of APP fraud up to £85.00 unless the customer was severely irresponsible, or the payment was made abroad.

Still, financial institutions oppose this regulation since social media companies should shoulder more responsibility as they are susceptible to such campaigns.