The Eras Tour is a bona fide phenomenon, with huge crowds and rave reviews for Taylor Swift’s run of shows. Tickets have been so sought after, however, that the singer’s fans have been put through the wringer. From the badly botched presale in November (that led to a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee) to lawsuits filed by frustrated Swifties, to the slow drip-drip-drip of tickets being released into the market by event promoters, it has been a stressful time for many fans.

And that stress, according to multiple reports, is causing many consumers to be at serious risk of falling prey to scammers, who are using various channels to tempt fans with ticket prices that are, in fact, too good to be true.

“There are con artists out there that have been thinking for a long time about how to scam people, whether it’s for Taylor Swift or Beyoncé [concerts] or a 76ers playoff game,” says Teresa Murray of the Public Interest Research Group, speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer for a recent story covering the troubling trend of ticket scams targeting the hot tour. “For a lot of people, going to a Taylor Swift concert in person makes them just desperate, and desperate people sometimes do irrational things.”

Buy Sell and Go with confidence at StubHub

Ticket prices have remained sky-high for the tour since it was first announced and put on sale in the fall. Ticketmaster’s systems failed in unprecedented ways due to the allegedly massive traffic caused by fans looking to buy tickets during the initial sales process, which led them to claims that the entire run was sold out almost immediately. In reality, many thousands of tickets were not put on sale during the initial period, held back instead to stimulate panic purchasing at any price by consumers, while being dripped out in small batches throughout the ensuing months.

The problem for many Swift fans is that they have continued to see the notification that held-back tickets have been dropped too late – repeatedly missing out during the fleeting moments when new blocks are offered for sale. It has been a frustrating, demoralizing process for many.

https://twitter.com/LaurHof11/status/1656364845606793222

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As many point out, the constant shell game of ticket availability has kept prices propped up – both on Ticketmaster but also on resale marketplaces. Taylor Swift tickets on Ticket Club, for example, start at $942 for Friday’s show at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia – and that’s on a marketplace where members don’t pay service fees. The same show on StubHub doesn’t have any tickets for less than $1,075 after fees are added.

Fans, as a result, are scouring the internet for deals, and that’s where they are prone to find people looking to take advantage of them. From fake profiles on social media that go dark after accepting payment for promised tickets to users looking to score personal information and hack into payment accounts as part of the promise of getting tickets to the desperate fans, it’s a dangerous situation out there for many who just want to get to these shows and can’t afford the asking price on resale marketplaces and continue striking out when Ticketmaster drips box office tickets out.

“There will be people who make bad decisions this week and buy fraudulent tickets, get their personal information hacked, because they wanted to go to a concert,” says Murray. “At some point, you need to make a decision: Is it really worth it … if you have to worry so much about whether you’re going to get scammed?”

Thankfully, recognized ticket resale marketplaces – though pricey – do offer protection from such scams. Fraudsters come and go, but any purchase on a recognized secondary ticketing marketplace will be backed by guarantees – the seller has to deliver the tickets as promised, or the buyer gets their money back.

In a recent warning about the rising tide of ticket-related scams during this summer of “dynamic” and “platinum” price-surged ticketing, Lloyds Bank did confirm for TicketNews that the safest place to do business for the ticket buyer is the recognized secondary ticket market, specifically because of the consumer protections they provide.

“Buying directly from reputable, authorized platforms is the only way to guarantee you’re paying for a real ticket. Only purchase tickets from well-known, reputable ticket selling platforms,” like StubHub, Ticket Club, Vivid Seats and MEGASeats, a no fees seller website, says Lloyd’s Fraud Prevention Director Liz Ziegler.

So for Taylor Swift fans, it’s always valuable to remember the following: If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is in Philadelphia this weekend. Browse ticket marketplaces for prices using the links below:

Taylor Swift Ticket Links

Taylor Swift tickets at MEGASeats.com | 10% Off Using Code TICKETNEWS
Taylor Swift tickets at Scorebig
Taylor Swift tickets at SeatGeek
Taylor Swift tickets at StubHub
Taylor Swift tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership Offer use code TICKETNEWS
Taylor Swift tickets at Ticketmaster
Taylor Swift tickets at Vivid Seats

Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Dates

Friday, May 12 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Saturday, May 13 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Sunday, May 14 – Philadelphia, PA | Lincoln Financial Field $&
Friday, May 19 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Saturday, May 20 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Sunday, May 21 – Foxborough, MA | Gillette Stadium $&
Friday, May 26 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $&
Saturday, May 27 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $+
Sunday, May 28 – E. Rutherford, NJ | MetLife Stadium $+
Friday, June 2 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Saturday, June 3 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Sunday, June 4 – Chicago, IL | Soldier Field #?
Friday, June 9 – Detroit, MI | Ford Field #?
Saturday, June 10 – Detroit, MI | Ford Field #?
Friday, June 16 – Pittsburgh, PA | Acrisure Stadium #?
Saturday, June 17 – Pittsburgh, PA | Acrisure Stadium #?
Friday, June 23 – Minneapolis, MN | U.S. Bank Stadium #?
Saturday, June 24 – Minneapolis, MN | U.S. Bank Stadium #?
Friday, June 30 – Cincinnati, OH | Paycor Stadium ^+
Saturday, July 1 – Cincinnati, OH | Paycor Stadium ^+
Friday, July 7 – Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium ^+
Saturday, July 8 – Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium ^+
Friday, July 14 – Denver, CO | Empower Field at Mile High ^+
Saturday, July 15 – Denver, CO | Empower Field at Mile High ^+
Saturday, July 22 – Seattle, WA | Lumen Field *+
Sunday, July 23 – Seattle, WA | Lumen Field *+
Friday, July 28 – Santa Clara, CA | Levi’s Stadium *+
Saturday, July 29 – Santa Clara, CA | Levi’s Stadium *+
Thursday, August 3 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *?
Friday, August 04 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *?
Saturday, August 5 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&
Tuesday, August 8 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&
Wednesday, August 9 – Inglewood, CA | SoFi Stadium *&