Lloyds Bank has issued a warning to Premier League football fans amid a rise in ticket scams.
Lloyds Bank has urged fans to only buy tickets through official channels after finding that the number of people being scammed when buying football tickets rose by around a third (32%) during the 2023/24 season, compared to the previous season.
The bank has said in a release that when tickets for big events are hard to obtain or in high demand, fraudsters know they can prey on desperate fans willing to pay much more. According to research, last season victims lost £177 on average, though for some fans it was over £1,000.
The rise of social media has had a big impact on the number of ticket-related scams. Fraudsters will often advertise tickets using pictures of real tickets to convince the unsuspecting buyer that they are genuine.
The victim is then tricked into making a payment, usually by bank transfer, a payment option that currently offers little protection against fraud. Once the money is received, the fraudster disappears, with the payee receiving nothing in return.
Aligning with the fact that most of these frauds happen on social media, Lloyds found that those aged between 25 and 34 years old were most likely to fall victim to a football ticket scam last year, accounting for 29% of all cases, followed closely by 18 to 24-year-olds (27%).
With new rules around fraud reimbursement, due to come into effect in October, British banks and payments providers have repeatedly pointed to social media’s use as a platform for scams. Lloyds has issued a similar warning previously about holiday scams circulating on social media.
In terms of clubs, followers of Arsenal and Liverpool were among the teams that fell victim the most to scams last year. This comes as no surprise, with ticket demand usually being higher for bigger clubs.
Liz Ziegler, Fraud Prevention Director at Lloyds Bank, commented: “Passions run high when supporting your favourite football team, and missing out on the big match after falling victim to a ticket scam can be devastating.
“There are some simple tactics every fan needs to know. Always stick to official channels as your first line of defence, and avoid deals which look too good to be true.
“Most scams kick off on social media, where impostors create fake profiles to sell non-existent tickets. We’re calling on these firms to step up and tackle the fraudsters head-on.”
