CINCINNATI — The Ohio Attorney General has issued a warning that scammers are likely looking to take advantage of Swifties who hope to score tickets to The Eras Tour.
Dave Yost issued a list of things those still pursuing tickets should consider before over-eagerly buying from an irreputable source.
The tour makes its stop in Cincinnati on June 30 and July 1 at Paycor Stadium. For fans, obtaining tickets to see Taylor Swift sing her way through her nearly-24-year-long career has been fraught with issues from the beginning.
Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, now face a lawsuit from Swifties across the country after the kickoff of Eras Tour ticket sales in November had to be canceled because of "extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand."
Those fans who kept trying were often preyed on by third-party ticket sellers. Katie Briley paid a StubHub reseller $600 per seat, but weren't given the tickets for six months. Similar anecdotes were reported in Denver, Nashville and other cities around the country.
"The nosebleed seats are over a thousand bucks so be mindful when buying resale tickets," said Yost in a press release. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Yost said to avoid the scammers lurking in T-Swift's shadow, fans should be skeptical of any offers that seem too enticing — tickets offered at or below face value could indicate a scam. Buyer should also only use reputable third-party resale sites when perusing Swift tickets and watch out for sites that mimic popular ticket sellers logos, or the tour's logos, Yost said.
Swifties should also take the time to do a quick Google search on any seller's name.
"Some con artists change names regularly," according to the email from Yost's office.
Above all, Yost said it's important to be sure the form of payment agreed on is safe and consistent — if the seller tries to change the agreement to a different form of payment, like gift cards, crypto or a cash or wire transfer, buyers should be wary. The best case scenario would be paying with a credit card, so the buyer can dispute or cancel charges if the purchase doesn't seem legitimate.
Those who have already tripped and stumbled into a Swiftie trap should report the details to the company they used to make the payment.
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