When Annette Newton heard from a friend who said she knew a corporate ticket reseller for the tour Eras by Taylor Swift, she had doubts.
This article is a translation of content from CTV News
“I contacted this person directly and they offered me tickets,” Annette Newton said in an interview with CTV News on Saturday. “I asked her to tell me a little about herself and if she could provide me with proof of tickets she had sold me in the past, which she did.”
Newton said a friend of a friend, known as Denise Blackhawk on Facebook, had several others who vouched for her credibility.
Part of the reason she was able to trust her was because several people in the Burlington community told her they had purchased tickets from her in the past, even showing photos showing they had attended to these other events.
“I followed the file and asked a lot of questions,” adds Ms. Newton. “I talked to her on the phone, I emailed her, I looked at her Facebook, people were like ‘thanks for the tickets.’ I contacted a few people who said, ‘Yes, she gave me some tickets.’
According to Newton, the woman who called herself Denise said she had access to a third-party vendor who gave her access to business-only sections for major events in Toronto, including concerts and sporting events.
Ms. Newton ended up buying four tickets for about $2,500 to give to her daughters for Christmas last year, and says she was informed by Denise, over several calls and texts, that she would have access to the tickets in the days leading up to Swift’s second concert in Toronto on October 15.
“It’s also how Ticketmaster distributes tickets,” reported Newton’s daughter Emily, who was supposed to attend the concert with her mother. “They only send them a few days before, so you can’t download them and start selling them.”
But when the day came, Denise told him that the third party had never sent him the tickets.
“She answered me quite quickly: ‘I have a problem, I don’t have the tickets… they have disappeared, the manager of my company hasn’t responded, I’m sorry, I can’t do anything do,” says Newton.
“It wasn’t the money that came to mind, but having to tell my four daughters, who were all getting ready to go to this event, that I had just been cheated,” said Mrs. Newton said, crying. “I was embarrassed, I was beside myself.”
“I was shocked by the impact this had on [ma mère]said Emily. “It’s sad to know that there are people who are encouraged to do this to other people.”
Hundreds of victims
After the incident, Ms Newton said she contacted several other mums who never received their tickets.
“My heart is truly broken, not for the money, but for the children.”
Jenny Beck, a mother from Oakville, Ontario, who purchased tickets for her 16-year-old daughter.
“I can’t believe someone would do this,” she told CTV News via Zoom on Saturday.
After learning that the number of alleged victims of this incident continued to increase, several of them decided to create a shared online document to gather a list of names and the amount each alleged victim had spent on purchases tickets.
“There’s a Google doc going around that we all fill out and have access to,” Mr. Beck said. “By the end of Friday night, the amount was over $300,000.”
“There are over 200 people who bought tickets and we believe she promised 450 tickets to everyone in total,” Alaina Attard said in an interview with CTV News. Ms Attard also verified that the amount spent collectively so far is more than $300,000.
“The scale of the matter is absolutely massive,” said Ms Attard, who claims she paid Denise for Taylor Swift tickets she never received. “It’s multiple provinces, there are people in the United States, it’s not just Burlington. At first it seemed like it was, but then you hear, ‘I’m from Kitchener, I’m from Toronto, I’m from Alberta,'” says Attard.
Attard and other mothers who spoke to CTV News said “Denise” is a well-known mother in their neighborhood who many people have met in person and found credible. They claim ‘Denise’ told them it was the company ticket provider who had taken their money and vanished, with ‘Denise’ claiming she was also one of the victims of the scam.
The police are investigating
CTV News called the phone number that several of the alleged victims said belonged to “Denise,” the person who took their money and promised Taylor Swift tickets in exchange.
“I already made a report to the police two days ago, at 9 a.m., so we’re going to wait for them to contact me,” a person identifying themselves as Denise told CTV News on the phone on Saturday.
The woman hung up before CTV News could ask further questions and did not return calls afterward.
Halton Regional Police say they are investigating numerous cases of people who paid for Taylor Swift concert tickets and never received them.
“We have spoken to our financial crimes unit and can confirm that we have received numerous reports and complaints regarding Taylor Swift’s posts,” said HRP spokesperson Jeff Dillon.
“I can’t give you much more information at the moment because the complaints have started to come to us [vendredi]but we remind residents to be vigilant when purchasing tickets.”
Police are asking the public to only purchase tickets from legitimate resale sites.
