Yahoo Finance NAB scam warning as $285,000 in payments abandoned: ‘Biggest red flag’
Punters are being warned about criminals selling fake music tickets and hacking into people’s social media accounts.
NAB is warning music lovers to be on the lookout for scams ahead of highly anticipated and sold-out international acts like Taylor Swift and SZA heading down under.
The major bank revealed its customers had abandoned $285,000 in payments linked to potential ticket scams in the past three months alone.
Scammers often respond to people posting on social media looking for tickets, or list non-existent tickets online. There have also been reports of criminals hacking into social media accounts and selling bogus tickets to the account owner’s friends.
Have you fallen victim to a scam? Share your story with tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com
NAB security awareness manager Laura Hartley said scammers were playing on fans’ fear of missing out.
“Tickets for sold-out concerts being listed on social media marketplaces or posts in fan groups are the biggest red flag of a scam,” Hartley said. “Only buy tickets from the authorised reseller.
“We’re hearing about criminals hacking social media profiles and selling bogus concert tickets to the account owner’s friends, who aren’t aware someone else is controlling the account.
“Even if it’s a friend you legitimately know listing the tickets on social media, pick up the phone and talk to them directly before sending money.”
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Yahoo Finance previously spoke to one Melbourne woman who was scammed out of $900 after trying to buy Taylor Swift tickets through a local Facebook group. The scammer ended up taking her payment, before asking for more money and blocked her on social media - leaving her out of pocket and ticketless.
Scamwatch said it had already received 273 reports of people being scammed buying Taylor Swift The Eras Tour tickets via social media, with Aussies losing $135,000 to the scam so far.
NAB has introduced real-time payment alerts to try to stamp out the scams, but said many customers ultimately completed their payment after receiving the alert.
Ticket scams are a type of buying-and-selling scam, which cost Aussies an estimated $43 million in 2023.
Hartley encouraged anyone thinking they may have been scammed to contact their bank immediately.
“Our team receives an average of almost 80,000 calls each month about scams and fraud - up from an average of 63,800 calls a month this time last year,” she said.
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