More than £240,000 lost to sports ticket scams this year so far, says bank

Nearly a quarter of a million pounds (£243,000) was lost to sports ticket scams between January and September this year, according to a major bank’s data.

A third (33%) of this amount, totalling £80,491, was lost by fans aged 19 to 34, Santander said.

People in this age group made up 84% of cases by volume, according to the bank’s figures.

Criminals may send fake tickets, or offer tickets that do not exist. Sales are typically advertised on social media or through fake websites, the bank said.

Football-related scams made up over half (52%) or £127,544 of the losses during the period looked at by Santander.

However, motorsports fans lost the biggest amounts on average, at £3,851, followed by golf fans who lost £860 typically.

Overall, the average loss per sports ticket scam has risen sharply, climbing to £352 this year from £225 in 2023, Santander said.

Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander said: “Scammers know how to exploit the excitement around big games. Don’t let them score at your expense.

“A quick check could be the difference between cheering in the stands or being left on the bench, out of pocket and out of luck.”

Here are some tips from Santander to avoid ticket scams:

1. Buy tickets from trustworthy official sellers and websites.

2. If tickets are sold out, do not allow the excitement of the moment to push you into buying from a non-legitimate source.

3. Avoid paying by bank transfer or PayPal friends and family if you are buying a resale ticket from someone other than official sellers or websites.

4. Make sure the website you are buying from is secure. When buying online, check the payment pages by looking for the padlock symbol in the address bar. The website should start with “https”.

5. Fraudsters may offer tickets to popular events that have sold out or ask for a lower price than expected. Do not forget that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.