Oasis devotees have been conned out of an average of £346 each in a ticket scam frenzy, with some fans losing up to a grand, Lloyds Bank has revealed. The most common victims are those aged 35 to 44, making up nearly a third of the cases, according to the bank's analysis of its customer reports.
The data, which includes customers from Lloyds and its sister brands Halifax and Bank of Scotland, focused on scams involving Oasis tickets between August 27 and September 25. Ticket fraudsters typically use fake social media ads or listings, offering cut-price tickets or access to sold-out gigs at eye-watering prices. Once payment is made, the scammers disappear into thin air.
Lloyds' own figures show that during the period examined, hundreds of ticket fraud claims were reported, with about 70% related to Oasis concert tickets. A whopping 90% of these scams originated from bogus social media adverts.
Liz Ziegler, Lloyds' fraud prevention director, said: "Predictably fraudsters wasted no time in targeting loyal Oasis fans as they scrambled to pick up tickets for next year's must-see reunion tour."
She warned: "Buying directly from reputable, authorised retailers is the only way to guarantee you're paying for a genuine ticket. If you're asked to pay via bank transfer, particularly by a seller you've found on social media, that should immediately set alarm bells ringing."
Lloyds highlighted that ticket frauds usually spike during two periods – initially when tickets first drop and again as the event draws near. As of last month, new mandatory reimbursement regulations have kicked in, enforced by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to protect individuals conned into wiring cash to scammers.
According to the fresh guidelines, banks are obliged to refund victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams, unless the patrons were extremely careless. An upper refund limit of £85,000 has been fixed, but banks can opt to reimburse heftier sums if they wish.
These reinforcements are applicable for transfers within UK bank accounts and will apply to transactions dated October 7 forward; they aren't retroactive. Prior to this, there was a non-compulsory refund code in effect, in addition to certain banks having their own pledge to repay customers.
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