How To Spot Concert Ticket Scams: 11 Red Flags For Fans Seeking Tickets
Let’s be real. We ALL want to be in the stadium for these tours. And not all of us were victorious in The Great (Ticketmaster) War of November 2022. So, how can you get tickets to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour now? Or Olivia Rodrigo next year? A lot of patience, luck, and timing factor in. But be warned: there are a ton of shifty people on these interwebs. Here’s how you can spot concert ticket scams while searching for tour tickets. Here’s your guide to determining if those Ticketmaster tickets are real!
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About The Eras Tour
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the biggest thing happening this year.
She’s visited cities all over the United States this past summer and heading to Europe, South America and back to Northern America next year.
For over 3 hours, Taylor Swift takes the stage and belts out her smash hits.
And if you’re a Swiftie- or even just a fan of incredible music and showmanship- this is the concert ticket you most want to get this summer.
If you’re taking kids with you, read this guide to the Eras Tour for parents. Know before you go!
2024 Taylor Swift Eras Tour Dates: United States
- Oct. 18 – 20: Miami at Hard Rock Stadium
- Oct. 25 – 27: New Orleans at Caesars Superdome
- Nov. 1 – 3: Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium
- Nov. 15 – 16 & Nov. 21 – 23: Toronto Ontario at Rogers Centre
Why Are Taylor Swift Concert Tickets So Expensive?
All magic has its price!
And this show is absolutely magical. But the tickets didn’t start this expensive, that’s for sure.
If you’ve looked into buying a resale Eras Tour ticket, you know what we’re talking about.
Almost $2000 for behind-the-stage mostly obstructed seats is not unheard of for this tour. Don’t get me wrong: it’s obscene. But it’s sadly not unheard of.
Why are Taylor Swift Tickets so expensive?
Because the bots and resellers could get through the Ticketmaster queue much faster than normal fans. And they bought every. dang. seat. they. could.
This means the already scarce commodity became rare and hard to get. And when that happens, the price is driven upward.
If you happened to get through Ticketmaster’s presales or 2nd chance ticket code opportunities, you legit won!
But if you didn’t, you’re likely searching the internet looking for ways to get these Eras Tour concert tickets.
We expect the same kind of nonsense to happen when Olivia Rodrigo concert tickets go on sale this week.
So how can you spot concert ticket scams and how can you tell if Ticketmaster tickets are real?
Here are 11 warnings for Fans Seeking Tickets.
How To Spot Concert Ticket Scams: 11 Red Flag Warnings For Fans Seeking Ticketmaster Tickets
- Ask them if they have a Ticketmaster Account. Eras Tour and Olivia Rodrigo tickets are ONLY digital and must be transferred via the online system only. You can send the ticket number to Ticketmaster, and they will verify if the ticket is real.
- Seek proof of tickets. Ask for a video recording of them starting in your online chat and going to their Ticketmaster account to show you the tickets. Things to look for: cuts or jumps to a static photo. It needs to be in real-time. You want to see them actively scrolling through their phone to get from point A (your chat) to point B (Ticketmaster account).
- They ask, “How many you after?” It’s a red flag. They’ll tell you, oh sure, I have just that many left!
- They refuse to Facetime you. If they are legit, they will happily have a face-to-face convo, right? Right.
- Check their social media. Do a mini-deep dive before you send anyone money. If they promoted these tickets on their Twitter feed multiple times already: it’s a scam. If they were legit, the tickets would be GONE in a Getaway Car.
- PayPal Goods and Services is the ONLY PAYMENT WAY to protect you. Insist on it. If they refuse to take G&S on PayPal, walk away. It’s a scam. You’ll hear things like “I don’t have that option” or “it takes too long for me to get the money” — just walk away. If they had tickets and were legit resellers, they would accept PayPal Goods and Services.
- Require that you “go through Admin.” This is an example of typical concert ticket scams that happen on social media, especially Facebook. The Admin is in on the scam. Don’t fall for it.
- Ask them if the seats are on the “Folklore or Red side?” Neither exists, so this is a concert ticket scam if they answer.
- Don’t accept a “donation” link. Only email them to their PayPal account directly through your PayPal. This way you can track where the money goes.
- Check the resale ticket sites for the same ticket. Many scammers are checking resale sites, and giving the same section and row for sale but at a cheaper cost. This is just public information they sourced and are using against you. Don’t fall for it.
- Their PayPal picture and email do NOT match their social media photo or country. We had a solid-looking sale fall through when the social media page showed someone in New York City but their PayPal email showed a photo of a totally different human being (different sex and race!) located in the UK. We saw this as the red flag it was and stopped the transaction immediately, even though it was Goods and Services and we’d likely get the money back.
We learned these lessons the hard way after spending weeks and months searching for those elusive legit resale Eras Tour tickets.
And since we’re on the waitlist for Olivia Rodrigo, welp, we expect the same thing to happen again.
Please if you remember anything: only use PayPal Goods and Services or a credit card with a good consumer protection policy.
Take screenshots and recordings of EVERY conversation you have with a potential seller.
It’s literally the only line of defense you have when buying tickets from someone you don’t already know and taking a few moments to screenshot and record could save you BIG TIME.
Surefire Way To Avoid Concert Ticket Scams: Buy Only Through Ticketmaster
Which is a scam in its own right… but that’s a rant for another day.
Look, we hate to be a bummer, but even the resale sites have their issues.
We’ve seen folks who paid through Stubhub or Vivid Seats STILL not get their tickets as promised. Luckily, those larger ticket resale programs have systems in place that might be able to help you. But not if it’s a last-minute purchase. That can get dicey.
We’re going to suggest only buying through Ticketmaster. And yes, we HATE that we have to say that because they’ve been brutal to work through.
We’ve been following the concert ticket drama for the Eras Tour since it all went down in November and truly, the only safe option, is through the official site.
Does that mean you will have to be incredibly lucky and fast?
It does indeed.
But people are still managing to get those last-minute ticket drops up to showtime.
Tips To Get Eras Concert Tickets Through Ticketmaster
- Tickets tend to start showing up in drops on the Wednesday before the show. So all day, evewry day, starting on Wednesday before your show weekend, refresh the Ticketmaster site looking for a queue to open.
- Use a Google Chrome add-on to refresh automatically.
- If you join a queue, STOP refreshing! Just hang out. If you are on your laptop, you can look in the source code to see how far into the queue you are. (view page source> line 83 > numbers should show where you are in line and how many users are ahead of you)
- If you get a greyed-out map without a queue, go ahead and toggle the number of tickets you need OR refresh if nothing is showing up for available seats. Sometimes this opens up a few seats- and you can’t be picky, just ADD TO CART and check out immediately!
- Preload your Ticketmaster account with your payment choice. Be sure you have that 3-digit security code memorized.
- If using your iPhone, pay via Apple Pay. Seems to be the fastest way to get the tickets secured.
One Other Legit Place To Buy Tickets: ErasTourResell on Twitter
Even though we said only go through Ticketmaster, we’re going to shout out a solid community of Swifties helping Swifties.
Follow the ErasTourResell ladies on Twitter and set your notifications ON.
But know that scoring a ticket through this process is also time-consuming and at times soul-crushing. But at least they are good at spotting concert ticket scams for you.
Remember: Taylor Loves You, but the scammers don’t! So be smart and safe and follow these tips to spot concert ticket scams.
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Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
