Taylor Swift ticket fraud cases skyrocket in Canada: How can you spot a scam?

At this point, it's very easy to know which Taylor Swift ticket sales are scams: it's all of them, at least if the ticket-holder is promising an instant transfer.

As Taylor Swift prepares to close out her Eras Tour era in Canada, fans desperate to see the pop star perform live are vulnerable to scams. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has received 140 reports of fraudulent Swift tickets this year, most of which came from people who were scammed out of money.

“Once you’ve sent money, it’s very difficult to get those funds back,” said Nancy Cahill, a communications officer with the centre, which is jointly operated by the RCMP, Ontario Provincial Police and Competition Bureau.

For that reason, she said, prevention is the best protection. Here are some tips on how to spot a scam.

At this point, it’s very easy to know which Taylor Swift ticket sales are scams: it’s all of them, at least if the ticket-holder is promising an instant transfer.

Ticketmaster announced earlier this month that ticket transfers for Swift’s sold-out concerts can only start 72 hours before the event. Previously, Swifties could move tickets between Ticketmaster accounts at any time.

It comes after a spike in reported hacks to Ticketmaster accounts.

“If anybody is telling you that they can transfer tickets now, that’s a huge red flag,” said Jagger Long, the owner of ticket resale business Karma Tickets.

Long has put a pause on buying and selling Eras Tour tickets for that reason — though they weren’t a huge part of his business because their astronomical price left them out of reach for most people.