4 ways to protect yourself against ticket scams ahead of the year’s biggest events

With the AFL and NRL Grand Finals just around the corner, it’s important to know what to look out for and sharpen your scam-sense
Fred Again playing the keyboard
Photograph: Used under license from Shutterstock.com
By Saskia Morrison-Thiagu for Time Out in association with Bankwest
Advertising

As the sun starts to set later in the day and foliage returns to trees, the country ignites with a warm buzz that can only mean something exciting is brewing. Not only is the warmer weather approaching, but we’re also coming up to one of the most exciting times of the year. At the end of September, Swan Street in Richmond lights up with enthusiasm, thanks to the footy Grand Final. Then, in October, Sydney shares the same eagerness and long-awaited anticipation for the NRL Grand Final at Olympic Park. 

This year, music fans will also get their share of excitement with the Coldplay Australia tour kicking off at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. Then, Kid Laroi makes his way back Down Under in November, travelling state-to-state as part of his epic global tour.

While it’s such an exciting time to be in Australia, we know that scoring tickets to your favourite gigs and events can be anxiety-inducing. Unfortunately, big-ticket events are also a breeding ground for scammers who prey on people’s desperation.

That’s why we’ve partnered with Bankwest to give you four ways to protect yourself against ticket scams ahead of the year’s most coveted events. Check out our tips below. 

You can also head to Bankwest’s security hub for more information about how to best protect yourself from scams of all kinds.

Time Out's ticket scam tips

Be vigilant about third-parties who sell sold-out tickets

Recently, there has been a rise in bots mass-buying tickets for this year’s biggest events, like Taylor Swift and Fred Again. According to the ABC, these bots wait in the queue like we do, but can make purchases faster than a human ever could. Scalpers then sell these tickets on third-party websites, sometimes reselling the same ticket over and over again – leading to people showing up to find out their ticket has already been scanned. It’s also unlikely that you’ll get your money back from the third-party websites if you buy a scalped ticket.

If you do buy a resale ticket, only use legitimate websites

When big-ticket events sell out, it’s more than tempting to try and find tickets outside of the official avenues. However, it’s so important to be vigilant about who you’re buying tickets from, especially if it’s through social media. There’s no protection when you buy tickets from platforms like Facebook, and no guarantee these tickets are genuine. 

If buying tickets from a third-party website, keep an eye out if there’s something unusual about the payment method, like only offering a single payment option or asking for a payment in gift cards or Bitcoin. In these cases, there should always be an authorised seller website (e.g. Ticketek Marketplace) which will always be your safest bet for resale tickets.

If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is

If tickets are being sold for significantly less than the original price, then it’s probably too good to be true. It’s also important to be cautious of overwhelmingly positive reviews that are very light on detail, as they might not be genuine.

Make sure you use a bank that prioritises your security

To help protect yourself from scams, Bankwest has a security hub with information on how to protect yourself against scams, which can be found here. Some tips Bankwest highlights to help you increase your scam sense are looking out for generic greetings that don’t address you by name, direct links to online banking and email requests for more information. Bankwest also has security features like NameCheck, which alerts you if the account details on a first-time payment don’t look right.

If you don’t recognise a transaction in your account, you can also check who is really charging via the Bankwest app. Just click ‘more about this transaction’ for detailed info on who's really charged you – including the business type, location and contact info.

For more information on how to protect yourself against the latest scams, head to Bankwest’s security hub.

Bankwest, a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Bankwest) ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL / Australian credit licence 234945.

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising