Dad's Taylor Swift scam warning after £220 ticket rip off leaves young daughter devastated

A Scots dad has warned others after falling victim to a Taylor Swift Facebook scam ahead of the pop icon's Murrayfield gig. Scott from Livingston was desperate to secure his 12-year-old daughter Sophie tickets to see the Love Story singer in concert on June 9.

The 41-year-old couldn't believe his luck when he came across two tickets up for sale on a 'Taylor Swift ticket page' on Facebook. Out of desperation, he paid for the tickets after he was 'harassed' by the seller.

On arrival at Murrayfield, security informed him his tickets were not valid leaving his daughter devastated. Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Scott said looking back on the incident he "should have clicked" it was a scam and hopes other people don't fall victim to the same situation.

He said: "I bought the tickets from a Taylor Swift page on Facebook and it was meant to be an official ticket selling page. It was so last minute and they were on sale for Sunday and I just stupidly bought them straight away.

"It was £220 altogether for the two tickets. I was then getting harassed from the seller for the money which I then sent straight away.

"I should have clicked that it was a scam but they called me about three times to which I answered and said they were thieving me and that they need to send the tickets over to me straight away. I should have thought about it all sooner but because I was doing it for my daughter, I just did it straight away and didn’t look at the bigger picture.

"When we got to Murrayfield, and the security scanned them on Ticketmaster, the tickets were fake. They told us we weren’t getting in and my daughter was obviously in tears. I will never buy a ticket through an alternative ticket-selling site again."

The dad added he decided to chance his luck after security broke the heartbreaking news, he soon got his hands on the 'last two' tickets of the show after Ticketmaster offered their help. He said: "Ticketmaster had a section for people who had been scammed and they only had two tickets left. The girl asked to see my phone and to see all the correspondence.

"They actually told my wee girl to leave and she went outside. They didn’t tell her that we had got tickets and then they surprised her and took a picture of her with the two tickets. It was lovely and amazing what they did actually.

"My bank gave me the money back straight away but it’s not the point. It was devastating for my daughter, so that’s why I decided to chance it The girls at Ticketmaster deserve the credit, what they did for my daughter was outstanding in the end."

Ticketmaster previously offered advice on how to secure tickets and that people should always 'exercise caution'.

In a statement available online, they said: "Always exercise caution when buying tickets on third-party sites, as information and tickets found on another website or via social media may not be legitimate. Additionally, be careful when dealing with an individual seller who claims they may have tickets for sale, and be wary of the payment method they may ask you to use.

"Be cautious when purchasing tickets from unknown individuals — especially if they ask for a method that’s a direct transfer of money and doesn’t clearly specify you’re making a purchase. Same goes for giving someone your credit card information over the phone, which is never recommended.

"Another common type of ticket scam occurs when a seller asks you to pay them using a gift card. Ticketmaster will never ask you to purchase a Ticketmaster Gift Card or any type of third-party gift card to use as a form of payment for tickets.

"Learn more about common gift card ticket scams here. Furthermore, do not purchase tickets before a tour has gone on sale.

"Third-party sites or individual sellers often list tickets for sale when they don’t actually have them — a rampant practice also known as speculative ticketing. Finally, be wary of printed tickets, as scammers can distribute copies of the same ticket to multiple buyers.

"Mobile Entry is the easiest and safest way to access tickets to your events, and a majority of Ticketmaster tickets for high-profile shows at stadiums and arenas are digital. Most of Ticketmaster’s mobile tickets are also powered by unique barcodes that refresh every 15 seconds to help prevent theft or copies, keeping your tickets safe and secure.

"One more tip: Avoid taking and sharing screenshots that expose personal information like your first and last name, order number, address, or credit card, especially during your checkout and confirmation experience on Ticketmaster."

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