Consumers Sleepwalking Into Scams: Alarming Rise in Social Media Ticket Scams as Buyers Ignore the Risks

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 20, 2024--

Tantalising Black Friday deals and the rise of TikTok shop are luring consumers into a world of online purchases but new research reveals that many are playing into the hands of savvy scammers on social media, leaving live event fans paying the price without any protection.

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According to new research revealed by Get Safe Online, the UK’s leading online safety advice resource, over half of consumers consider social media a ‘safe space’ for buying or selling live event tickets or feel neutral about it, even though the platforms offer zero protection or recourse when issues arise. Among fans surveyed, 42% had bought tickets on social media, with one in eight falling victim to scams.

The UK is seeing a new era of live events like never before, with demand for major shows sky high. Research revealed the scarcity of tickets is driving fans to take risks, with over a quarter (27%) admitting that “desperation to go to an event” led them to buy through social media. This was highlighted during the Oasis ticket sale, where millions of fans were funnelled into a single online queue on a primary ticket platform overwhelmed by demand.

Thousands of disappointed fans unable to secure tickets turned to social media and unverified sites where many fell victim to scams. According to Lloyds bank, 1 Oasis ticket scam victims lost an average £346 each, with 90% of scams occurring on social media. This highlights the urgent need for alternative, safe and regulated platforms that protect fans from fraud. Indeed, the majority of consumers (79%) agreed that having a secure, regulated secondary marketplace is essential to keeping ticket-buying safe. Of those who had bought tickets on social media, 17% had a negative experience, citing feeling intimidated, being caught in a phishing scam, encountering fake tickets, multiple sales of the same ticket, or sellers disappearing with the money.

Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, said, ‘We are witnessing a perfect storm: heightened fan passion, limited ticket supply, a single primary seller, a chaotic and pressurised on-sale primary ticketing process — all of which create an environment for fraudsters to operate with alarming success. Fans urgently need safe alternatives with robust consumer protections. Increasing competition also opens the market, giving fans more choices about where and how they purchase tickets safely. It is essential that consumers are fully aware of the risks associated with purchasing tickets on social media and have access to multiple platforms and regulated marketplaces where they are protected by a guarantee.”

The research reveals that Londoners are at particular risk of ticket scams on social media: 76% express trust or neutrality toward buying tickets on these platforms — well above the national average of 54%. This misplaced confidence comes at a cost, with 21% of Londoners reporting they’ve unknowingly purchased fake tickets on social media platforms.

Younger consumers are also more vulnerable according to the research, with 55% of 18-34-year olds admitting they’d buy tickets on social media, often making impulsive purchases that lead to the highest financial losses.

One fan, Carly J, who was scammed on Facebook shared the deception she encountered: “Finding tickets for Fred Again felt like an impossible task after they first sold out. I thought I’d had a lucky break when I found a pair on Facebook Marketplace for £100. But after I paid, the seller vanished and deactivated their account. I felt completely powerless and foolish. I reached out to Facebook for help but got no response. The experience has really opened my eyes to how vulnerable we are on social media where there is no protection or anything you can do to get your money back.”

It’s clear that the current ticketing system could better meet consumer needs and expectations. Fans want flexibility and choice - including the option to buy tickets closer to the event date or outside the restricted window of the on-sale. The more industry competition and optionality for fans, the better the services and offerings.

With live events increasingly taking centre stage in people’s lives, it is critical the industry works together now more than ever to protect fans.

For further information on buying tickets safely online visit: Buying Tickets - Get Safe Online.

ABOUT GET SAFE ONLINE

Get Safe Online is an authoritative and widely respected international resource designed to help individuals and small businesses stay safe, secure and confident when using the internet. The information and advice provided is designed to be impartial, practical and easy to follow by all of its target audiences. Get Safe Online has established a network of websites and local representations in 26 countries around the world, funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Get Safe Online was established in 2006 and is a not-for-profit organisation. www.getsafeonline.org.

Survey conducted by Opinium with 2,000 respondents. Figures correlated through spending between April 2023 and March 2024.

If you become the victim of a scam, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at www.actionfraud.police.uk.

1 Research from Lloyd’s bank showing money lost to Oasis scams

Consumers Sleepwalking Into Scams: Alarming Rise in Social Media Ticket Scams as Buyers Ignore the Risks (Graphic: Business Wire)

Consumers Sleepwalking Into Scams: Alarming Rise in Social Media Ticket Scams as Buyers Ignore the Risks (Graphic: Business Wire)

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades Wednesday, a step aimed at modernizing data collection and planning in a country long impacted by conflict and political divisions.

The act of counting the population is also contentious. The census is expected to have profound implications for Iraq’s resource distribution, budget allocations and development planning.

Minority groups fear that a documented decline in their numbers will bring decreased political influence and fewer economic benefits in the country’s sectarian power-sharing system.

The count in territories such as Kirkuk, Diyala and Mosul -- where control is disputed between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous Kurdish regional government in the north -- has drawn intense scrutiny.

Ali Arian Saleh, the executive director of the census at the Ministry of Planning, said agreements on how to conduct the count in the disputed areas were reached in meetings involving Iraq’s prime minister, president and senior officials from the Kurdish region.

“Researchers from all major ethnic groups — Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians — will conduct the census in these areas to ensure fairness,” he said.

The last nationwide census in Iraq was held in 1987. Another one held in 1997 excluded the Kurdish region.

The new census “charts a developmental map for the future and sends a message of stability,” Planning Minister Mohammed Tamim said in a televised address.

The census will be the first to employ advanced technologies for gathering and analyzing data, providing a comprehensive picture of Iraq’s demographic, social, and economic landscape, offiials say. Some 120,000 census workers will survey households across the country, covering approximately 160 housing units each over two days.

The Interior Ministry announced a nationwide curfew during the census period, restricting movement of citizens, vehicles and trains between cities, districts and rural areas, with exceptions for humanitarian cases.

The count will be carried out using the “de jure” method, in which people are counted in their usual area of residence, Saleh said.

That means that people internally displaced by years of war will be counted in the areas where they have since settled, not in their original communities. The census will not include Iraqis residing abroad or those forcibly displaced to other countries.

Saleh estimated Iraq’s population at 44.5 million and said the Kurdish region’s share of the national budget — currently 12% — is based on an estimated population of 6 million. The census will also clarify the number of public employees in the region.

By order of Iraq’s federal court, the census excluded questions about ethnicity and sectarian affiliation, focusing solely on broad religious categories such as Muslim and Christian.

“This approach is intended to prevent tensions and ensure the census serves developmental rather than divisive goals,” Saleh said. The census will be monitored by international observers who will travel across Iraq’s provinces to assess the data quality, he said.

Hogr Chato, director of the Irbil-based Public Aid Organization, said the census will reshape the map of political thinking and future decision making.

“Even though some leaders deny it, the data will inevitably have political and economic implications,” he said. “It’s also fair to allocate budgets based on population numbers, as areas with larger populations or those impacted by war need more resources.”

Chato said he believes the delays in conducting the census were not only due to security concerns but also political considerations. “There was data they didn’t want to make public, such as poverty levels in each governorate,” he said.

Ahead of the census, leaders in Iraq’s various communities urged people to be counted.

In Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district, Abdul Wahhab al-Samarrai, preacher at Imam Abu Hanifa Mosque, urged citizens to cooperate with the census.

“This is a duty for every Muslim to ensure the rights of future generations,” he said in a Friday sermon the week before the count.

Martany reported from Irbil, Iraq.

A worker prepares to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A worker prepares to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

People browse through books displayed during the annual book festival in Abu Nawas street in central Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Nov.16, 2024. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)