Online scams: Oasis fans scammed on Facebook

British Oasis fans, already outraged by the exorbitant prices of tickets for the famous rock group’s reunion tour, have also been victims of numerous fake ticket scams on social networks, particularly on Facebook, the bank warned on Tuesday Lloyds.

“There have been hundreds of claims of ticket fraud in the month following the band’s reunion announcement,” the bank said in a statement, and about 70% of these concert ticket scams involve Oasis fans.

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, fifteen years after their shattering separation, announced at the end of August their intention to reform their legendary group for a tour next summer.

In more than 90% of cases, “scams start with false advertising or a publication on social networks, the vast majority on Facebook,” detailed Lloyds, the largest network of banking agencies in the United Kingdom, and the victims are between 35 and 44 years old.

Once payment is made, no ticket, “the scammers disappear into thin air,” continues Lloyds, which warns that “scams often occur in two waves: first when tickets go on sale, then closer to the date of the event.

Up to 1123 Swiss francs lost

Victims lost an average of 346 pounds (389 Swiss francs) and up to 1000 pounds (1123 Swiss francs) in some cases.

Tickets are sold “often in violation of the rules of the platforms themselves,” but this “underscores the importance of these companies taking stronger action to combat scams,” says Liz Ziegler, director of fraud prevention. at Lloyds.

“We continually invest in fraud protection on our platforms and we advise our community to immediately report any scams so that we can take action,” reacts Meta, Facebook’s parent company, in a statement sent to AFP .

The Californian giant specifies that it recently launched a pilot program for the reciprocal exchange of information on fraud “designed to allow banks to share information – particularly on banknote scams”.

On August 31, Oasis fans rushed to buy tickets for concerts, encountering endless waiting lists and malfunctions on official sales sites, including Ticketmaster, a giant in ticket sales.

After this chaotic day, the British competition authority opened an investigation in September against Ticketmaster over its practice of “dynamic pricing”, which caused ticket prices to skyrocket well beyond the prices initially displayed.

And in late October, tour organizers said they would cancel tickets purchased on unofficial resale sites, which could affect thousands of fans.

AFP

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