FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Franklin mom has learned her lesson the hard way paying hundreds to a scammer account for Taylor Swift tickets that don't exist.
"The first thing I said to her was OK. I’m not trying to disrespect you or anything but are these real because they’re for my daughter's graduation," mom Lisa Young said.
Young said she prides herself on being able to spot a scam, but this time she was only thinking about making her daughter Gracie happy.
“I just really wanted to get Taylor Swift tickets for her high school graduation. She’s worked really hard," Jones said.
Young recently came across an opportunity to purchase tickets from a social media account claiming to have tickets for The Eras Tour in Nashville. The scammer assured Young the tickets were real. Thinking with her heart, Young immediately venomed the money paying $350 each, for two tickets plus another $25 for insurance.
"Everything is looking just like Ticketmaster. She came back in messenger and said oh this is a problem, I should’ve checked my email. They wanted me to pay a $50 name change fee, so they’re wanting me to pay them $50 more," Young said.
It was in this moment Young knew something wasn't adding up, so she tried calling this person through the social media platform.
"It rang and rang. Then all of a sudden all the pictures started deleting off of messenger," Young said.
Young couldn’t believe it. She’d been scammed out of hundreds of dollars. NewsChannel 5 has uncovered this person, who may be deceiving other people, too. The account has posted in several social media groups across the country claiming to have Taylor Swift tickets to sell.
"It's not about the money anymore. It’s just about trusting people and being taken advantage of. We just don’t see much good in people anymore," Young said.
Young knows she should’ve said no to the scammer, but hopes other parents learn from her. She said to listen to your gut.
“10 or 15 years ago, the due diligence would’ve worked. This has really shown me they’re much smarter than me when it comes to not having a heart," Young said.
Young is working with her bank to dispute the charges to get her money back. She's still going to attempt to make her daughter's wildest dreams come true.
The Better Business Bureau has some advice for consumers looking to purchase tickets to a concert, game, or any other event:
- Purchase from the venue whenever possible. Many official ticket sales agents now offer secondary sales options, as well.
- Consider your source. Know the difference between a professional ticket broker (a legitimate and accredited reseller), a ticket scalper (an unregulated and unlicensed ticket seller), and a scammer selling scam tickets.
- Check out the seller/broker. Look them up on BBB.org to learn what other customers have experienced. Check to see if they are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers. NATB members offer a 200% purchase guarantee on tickets. Look up the seller on VerifiedTicketSource.com to confirm you are buying from a NATB-member resale company.
- Buy only from trusted vendors. Buy online only from vendors you know and trust. Look for the lock symbol in the web address to indicate a secure purchasing system. Don’t click through from emails or online ads; a common ticket scam trick is to create a web address that is similar to a well-known company.
- Know the refund policy. You should only purchase tickets from a ticket reseller that provides clear details about the terms of the transaction. Sellers should disclose to the purchaser, before purchase, the location of the seats represented by the tickets, either orally or by reference to a seating chart; and, if the tickets are not available for immediate access to the purchaser, disclose when the tickets will ship or be available for pick up.
- Use payment methods that come with protection. Always use a credit card, so you have some recourse if the tickets are not as promised. Debit cards, wire transfers, or cash transactions are risky; if the tickets are fraudulent, you won’t be able to get your money back.
- Be wary of advertisements. When you search the web for online tickets, advertisements for cheap tickets will often appear. Use good judgment; some of these ads will be ticket scams, especially if the prices are low.
- If you’re unsure, verify your tickets. Pay a visit to the arena where the event will be held. Present your ticket to “Will Call” (customer service), and they can verify if your ticket is legitimate and show you how to tell if it is fake.
According to Ticketmaster, they will never ask you to buy an Amazon Gift Card, iTunes Gift Card, money order, or any other third-party gift card as a form of payment in exchange for tickets.
They'll never ask you go to a store and buy a gift card in order to issue a refund. If a refund is issued, it will be processed to the original method of payment used at time of purchase.
They said avoid calling potential scammers by always looking for the official way to contact Fan Support, which can be found, here.
Ticketmaster will never request that you wire funds as a form of payment in exchange for tickets. Also, when you buy from Ticketmaster, you choose how you want to pay from one of their accepted payment methods.
