Coldplay fans seeking last minute tickets to their sold out Australian tour have been warned to be aware of online scams.
Cyber criminals are known to exploit fans desperate to bag a ticket to performances from the world's biggest acts, even if it means purchasing a ticket that's much more expensive.
Here's how to spot the red flags and avoid being scammed.
How do the scams work?
There are two types of scams circulating.
The first is where criminals offer fake tickets on online resale marketplaces. They either list the tickets for sale themselves or respond to people's posts who are looking for tickets.
The second is where criminals hack social media accounts and sell fake tickets to the victim's unwitting friends.
They put up posts or send messages to friend lists which include a story about how they can no longer attend the concert and are selling the tickets, often "at cost" or a low price.
After the ticket is paid for, the contact disappears and the ticket never arrives.
Tickets for Coldplay's world-famous Music of the Spheres Australia-leg tour sold out within minutes.
Given the band's huge popularity, this gives scammers the perfect opportunity to prey on those who weren't able to snag a ticket from a verified ticket seller by putting up fake posts on social media.
Earlier this year, Taylor Swift fans lost more than $135,000 to a similar ticket scam.
NAB group investigations executive Chris Sheehan said fans should think twice about resale tickets even if it's from a friend.
"We've heard stories of scammers hacking people's social media profiles to sell fake tickets to 'friends' who have no idea it's a criminal and are left devastated," Mr Sheehan said.
"Even if it's a friend you legitimately know listing the tickets on social media, pick up the phone and talk to them directly before sending money."
NAB reports customers have abandoned $160,000 in payments linked to potential ticket scams in the past three months.
This means customers decided not to proceed with a payment after getting a scam alert from the bank.
According to the ACCC's Scamwatch, Australians have lost $19 million to buying and selling scams this year.
How do I know if my Coldplay tickets are real?
The only way to know your tickets are authentic is to buy them via an authorised ticket seller.
If you're purchasing tickets from an individual via social media, ask if they can provide the original receipt from the verified seller.
Try to see if you can dig up any information or reviews online that may indicate a scam. You can do so by searching the seller's name and email address along with the search terms "scam" or "fake tickets".
You could also do a reverse image search.
But remember, even if you do all this, there's still no way to be sure the tickets are legitimate.
Here's an example on Facebook where a user asked a group whether this Coldplay ticket was authentic.
You can see the "Hi Sofia" has been photoshopped into the email and there is inconsistency with the fonts ("Coldplay Wed 6 Nov 2024") and formatting.
Users were quick to comment the ticket was a fake and noted it was different to their legitimate email confirmation received from Ticketek.
How to avoid being scammed
Here are some of the steps you can take to reduce the risk of being scammed when buying tickets:
- Fans are being told the safest way to buy tickets is through an authorised ticket seller
- If you're buying tickets through social media, contact the person directly via a different platform. So if the post is on Facebook, send them a text, and check that they're actually selling legitimate tickets
- If you're buying tickets through social media, stay away from new, private or locked profiles and ones with very generic pictures
- Pay via a secure payment option
- If you're making a bank transfer, don't give your details to the seller. Rather, have them send you their bank account number and BSB number
- Take screenshots of any communications and transactions where possible when purchasing tickets online
I've been scammed. Who do I contact?
Contact your bank or financial institution immediately, and the platform on which you were scammed.
People are also encouraged to report scams to the National Anti-Scam Centre whether they've lost money or not.
You can report cybercrimes to police through the Australian Cyber Security Centre's online reporting portal.
