Taylor Swift ticket scam: Ontario fan out $1,400 after social media dupe

An Ontario woman is warning others about the risks of buying Taylor Swift concert tickets from resellers on social media sites.

She learned an expensive lesson and lost $1,400.

“It’s a crime of opportunity but it’s also very easy,” Andrea Accinelli, who lives in Unionville, Ont., told Global News in a cautionary message about ticket fraud.

In August, Accinelli received an offer from a Facebook friend who claimed she had four tickets to sell for the Taylor Swift Eras Concert Tour in Toronto on Nov. 16.

Accinelli recognized the Facebook friend from a networking group that included other mutual friends, so she wasn’t suspicious.

“I wasn’t opposed to buying some if they were a reasonable price, which they were,” Accinelli said.

The cost? $350 each.

“Oh, wow, this is an opportunity. How amazing,” Accinelli recalled thinking.

“I was happy to see that this was a possibility.”

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She decided to buy all four tickets and sent the seller an e-transfer from her bank account for $1,400.

Accinelli said she had a series of additional communications with the seller after transferring the money, but the seller delayed sending the tickets for days.

Eventually, the seller emailed what looked like a ticket, but wasn’t.

“Through Ticketmaster, it came out that they were not real, and she (the seller) disappeared off Facebook,” Accinelli said.

Peel Regional Police recently warned about the growing risks of buying Taylor Swift tickets on Facebook. They say scammers are hacking into legitimate accounts and making offers that aren’t real.

“The hackers then make a post trying to offload tickets for cheap. More times than not, this is just a hoax and all you’re end up doing is sending your hard-earned money and receiving sweet nothing in return,” said Peel Regional Police Const. Tyler Bell-Morena in a video message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Accinelli filed a complaint with York Regional Police which has confirmed it has details of her case. But in situations like these consumers almost never get their money back.

She told Global News her intention is to make others aware how easy it can be to lose money when you’re enthusiastic about the chance to buy Taylor Swift tickets.

“Make sure you get the person on the telephone. If they don’t want to take your phone calls they probably aren’t legitimate; make sure it’s real, don’t send e-transfers,” Accinelli said.

One-to-one sales of concert tickets can be extremely risky, even if you’re careful.

“I’m not going to starve because I lost $1,400, but at some point she might con someone who might not recover from this.”