'Swiftie swindle': Vancouver Island police warn of Taylor Swift ticket scam

Police on Vancouver Island are warning fans about a “Swiftie swindle” scamming Taylor Swift fans out of their money with fraudulent ticket sales on social media.

The Oak Bay Police Department says on June 11 a fan reported seeing a Facebook post from a friend selling four Taylor Swift tickets for $2,400.

The individual sent the money by e-transfer, and in return received “obvious fake tickets,” police said.

The friend then contacted the scammed fan to say their account had been hacked and was sending messages to everyone on their friends’ list advertising the fake tickets.

That same day, another report went in to Oak Bay Police of a Facebook friend selling Taylor Swift tickets for $500 each. That fan e-transferred $2,000 for four tickets, and then the seller asked for a $400 surcharge to transfer the tickets.

The Swiftie sent the extra $400, but then started to suspect they were being scammed. As it turns out, that Facebook friend’s profile was also hacked, according to police.

Both incidents have been referred to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and are under investigation.

“The same ‘hacked’ Facebook profile had been used in both reports of fraud,” the department wrote in a news release Tuesday. “The 'Swiftie swindle', similar to other frauds reported to Oak Bay Police this past week, have been reported in several other police jurisdictions over the past few weeks.

Police departments across B.C. have sent warning about ticket sale scams ever since Taylor Swift announced her Eras Tour would be in Vancouver from Dec. 6 to Dec. 8. The star recently revealed the record-breaking tour would end in that month, and the B.C. Place shows are currently the only ones scheduled for December, so T-Swift might be marking the end of the Eras Tour in Vancouver.