United Kingdom: hundreds of fake tickets sold for Oasis concerts

Many Oasis fans may not be able to attend the famous rock band’s concert as planned. Hundreds of Britons have been victims of fake ticket scams on social networks, particularly on Facebook, Lloyds bank warned this Tuesday, November 5. “There have been hundreds of claims of ticket fraud in the month since the reformation announcement” of the group, the bank said in a press release. Around 70% of these concert ticket scams concern Oasis fans.

False advertising on social networks

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher announced at the end of August their intention to reform their legendary group for a tour next summer, 15 years after their shattering separation. In more than 90% of cases, “scams start with a false advertisement 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 were between 35 and 44 years old.

Once payment is made, no ticket and “the crooks disappear into thin air”continues Lloyds, which warns that “Scams often happen in two waves: first when tickets go on sale, then as the event date approaches”.

An open investigation into ticket prices

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

“We continually invest in fraud protection on our platforms and advise our community to report any scams immediately so we can take action”reacts Meta, parent company of Facebook, in a statement sent to AFP. The Californian giant specifies that it has recently launched a pilot program for the reciprocal exchange of information on fraud “designed to allow banks to share information – particularly on banknote scams”.

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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 into the practice of “dynamic pricing”, which caused ticket prices to skyrocket well beyond the prices initially displayed.

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