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This summer is a prime hunting ground for scammers to target concert-goers and sports fans alike as they increasingly employ artificial intelligence technology to ensnare unsuspecting victims, experts warn.
The events market is being flooded with counterfeit tickets, and major events such as the Paris Olympics and Taylor Swift concerts among the most attacked events, according to UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report.
Given the high value of tickets for major events, with seats for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics costing at least 150 euros and reaching as high as 700 euros, it is not surprising that these are the main targets of scammers.
“Tickets to concerts and sporting events in high demand are at the top of the list for scammers and consumers as we enter the summer season,” said Doriel Abrahams, Principal Technologist at Forter.
Warning: With a summer packed with sporting events, experts warn scams are at a fever pitch and can leave fans hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
He adds: ‘What’s different now is the prevalence of AI. While AI is not a good fraud instigator, it is a great fraud accelerator.
‘Bad actors can now leverage AI to scale their operations by generating convincing social engineering emails, text messages, and social media messages in a matter of seconds.
“Desperate consumers eager to get tickets are much more vulnerable to being deceived by fake websites and offers.”
According to Forter, a software services company, the banknote industry has a 6 percent transaction fraud rate.
However, with the rise of the latest generation of AI in recent years, scammers can now automate and streamline their processes, creating more convincing scams and a higher volume of them.
One of the main methods used by these scammers is known as account takeover or ATO.
This involves taking control of user accounts using data obtained from data breaches, social engineering, and phishing attacks.
‘It’s easy for consumers to overlook or become desensitized to the data breaches we see in the headlines every day.
What’s different now is the prevalence of AI. While AI is not a good fraud instigator, it is a great fraud accelerator.
Doriel Abrahams – Forter
“But the data stolen (emails, passwords, addresses, etc.) in these breaches are currency for scammers,” Abrahams said.
‘Before long, the information will be sold on the dark web to the highest bidders, who will then use it to access and take over their online accounts.
“From there, they can make dozens of purchases (booking trips, buying concert tickets or expensive handbags) worth thousands of dollars before you know it.”
The ATO’s fears have been intensified by the Ticketmaster data breach last week, in which cybercrime group ShinyHunters stole the data of 500 million customers of the online ticketing platform.
Banco Santander has also been in the crosshairs of hackers, with 30 million customer account details said to be at risk of being sold on the dark web.
In addition to account takeover, purchase scams have become increasingly prevalent over the past year, having grown by 28 percent, according to UK Finance, reaching a total value of £85.9 million in 2024.
These scams, in which victims pay for goods or services they never receive, often use social media or online platforms to find victims and persuade them to pay by bank transfer.
The seller, who offered the counterfeit bills for sale, disappears and the victim is left without money.
Counterfeiting: Scammers promote fake or non-existent tickets, targeting desperate fans of sold-out events.
football frenzy
With the Euros kicking off summer events when they begin in mid-June, fans will no doubt be scrambling to resell tickets for the group stages and hoping to get tickets for the knockout stages if England are successful.
However, last year more than half of all sports ticket scams targeted football fans, using fake or even non-existent tickets to take advantage of desperate fans trying to buy tickets to events that are often already sold out.
Adenike Cosgrove, cybersecurity strategist at Proofpoint, said: “With the Euro 2024 tournament just around the corner and fans around the world looking to buy last-minute tickets to the games, we urge fans looking for a good deal to Be aware of social engineering scams.
“As seen at previous high-profile sporting events, we may see cybercriminals use this event as bait to trick people into sharing sensitive information or handing over money in the hopes of buying tickets, which do not exist.”
On average, these ticket scams cost victims £243 each, Barclays said, but its research indicates that men are more likely to pay higher prices for tickets, losing an average of £325 to scammers, in compared to an average of £156 for women.
The summer, along with the large number of events taking place, is expected to increase the incidence of these shopping scams, with July being the month with the highest volume of scams in 2023, while August recorded 12 percent of scams based in the value.
Kirsty Adams, fraud and scam expert at Barclays, said: “Where there is a popular ticketed event, there is always a scammer looking to take advantage of that demand.”
‘Unfortunately, it can be easy to get caught up in a ticket scam when you’re desperate to try and get a ticket to an oversubscribed event.
‘It can be devastating for sports fans to hand over their hard-earned money for a ticket to see their favorite team or event, only to find out that it doesn’t actually exist.
“We want to save fans any headaches this summer and urge everyone to take a moment to stop and think, and check the site or person they are purchasing tickets from.”
He added: “As the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
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