Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
One in Ten Brits is an Event Scam Victim
Annie
3rd Jul 2024
Have you been the victim of an event scam? Scams are getting more sophisticated than ever these days. Whether you’re a Swiftie looking for tickets, booking a holiday abroad, or planning to attend the Olympics – be careful! A recent survey revealed one in ten Brits has been scammed when it comes to buying tickets for something they really want to do.
What to Do If You’ve Been Scammed
The Scam Survey Findings
The survey, by security awareness KnowBe4, revealed that 11% of respondents has been a target of scams and a further 8% think they may have been. Over a third of the people who had been targeted have lost money (36%), while 40% did report it to the authorities.
Perhaps more concerning is that a third (30%) also lost their personal online data, including financial data, at the same time. A huge 31% lost access to their online accounts too – leaving them open to fraudsters with access to spend on linked credit cards and purchase lots of tickets illegally.
How to Avoid Being a Scam Victim
There are a few things you can do to avoid losing your money and data to unscrupulous people when you’re planning your next ticket purchase.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
Whenever you have the option, select Two-Factor Authentication for an account login. This is where you need to have access to your phone or email address to enter a unique code or an app like Authenticator App to confirm it is you logging in and/or making a purchase. While TFA isn’t entirely hack-proof still, it does make things a LOT harder for hackers, especially as it will alert you to account activity immediately.
Use Different Passwords
We’re all guilty of using the same password for a few things. Don’t! This makes it easy for a scammer to try your email address and password on other similar websites (or any other websites, really) to spend your money online. Worse, if you use the same password for your email address, they can take the account over entirely and you’ll lose your information, photos, and give them access to all sorts of personal data.
Use a secure password for each new account, and keep them written down offline somewhere safe. You can use things like iCloud Keychain, 1Password, and Chrome Passwords to store your login from your phone or computer, but remember that anyone who has access to the device (including someone who steals it) could then log in without difficulty and change your passwords to lock you out.
Check If Your Password Has Been Leaked
Your password may have been part of a data breach and you might not know anything about it. Use free tool HaveIBeenPwned.com to find out if your password linked to your email address you use for logins has ever been leaked. This will tell you if you should change the password to keep up your security.
Check the URL Before Clicking
A common scam online is to send emails or have social media posts that look like they’re offering a fantastic deal on tickets. Before you click the advert, hover your mouse over it and look in the bottom left of your browser. This will tell you the full URL that you’ll be directed to – and you’ll see that it’s not the one you think it is. If you want to make the most of a deal you’ve seen online, the safest thing to do is never click the social media post or online advert or email link. Go directly to the retailer website and look for the deal there.
Don’t Buy Tickets for Cash
If your mate’s boss’ mate’s girlfriend says they have a ticket going for cheap but can only take cash, don’t buy it. Many tickets these days aren’t possible to resell unless through the original ticket agent or a licensed reseller like ViaGoGo. The unique QR code on tickets can easily be duplicated to make it look like an authentic ticket too, until you turn up on the day to find five more people all have the same ticket as you!
We’ve done a full article on avoiding ticket scams here, so check it out for more details about protecting yourself online and avoiding common ticket scams.
What to Do If You’ve Been Scammed
If you’ve been the victim of a scam, there are a few things to do.
- Contact your bank and let them know. You might be able to get a refund unless you have paid via a direct bank transfer or in cash. They can also cancel your credit card or debit card if you think your data has been stolen.
- Contact the retailer to tell them about the scam so they can take their own legal action against the scammers. They may also be able to offer you another way of buying tickets or getting a discount in return.
- Get in touch with Action Fraud to file a report.
- If your money has been stolen, you could also file a police report. This is more likely to be useful if you can prove someone has acted fraudulently in person, such as a ticket tout.
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