Ticket sales to the Australian tour of American singer Billie Eilish have only just started, but criminals are already rubbing their hands with glee.

Some fans are complaining about ticket prices that are higher than to Taylor Swift’s shows. Experts say this will increase demand for cheaper tickets in the resale market and the risk of getting trapped by criminals, leaving with “fake” tickets and stolen personal information.

“People tend to let their guard down whenever they feel like the safe option is too expensive or they missed a chance to buy tickets to their favorite performer’s show from an official ticket seller. This way, they expose themselves to greedy scammers waiting for someone to make a mistake, give out their data, or transfer money into malicious hands,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at NordVPN.

Billie Eilish has issued a warning ahead of ticket sales because there were already concrete attempts to trick people into losing money while trying to purchase cheaper tickets through “pre-sale” and “resale” websites. In some cases, the tickets are not delivered at all, while in other cases sophisticated scammers even send digital tickets that look real but won’t work when scanned at the event.

Moreover, scammers create phishing websites using similar URLs as official distributors in an attempt to get some sales or to steal personal information. Thus, any website that resells tickets should be approached with extreme caution – they could be used to steal not only money but also payment card information or other personal information, which could be later sold on the dark web.

How to avoid fake ticket scams

To protect yourself from becoming a victim of ticket scammers, Adrianus Warmenhoven advises to take these preventive measures:

Don’t be fooled by a lower price. Scammers usually try to attract their victims by offering lower ticket costs. Usually, this is the first indication that you are dealing with criminals. Resellers aim to gain a profit, so they cannot be selling tickets cheaper than official distributors.

Learn to identify phishing websites. If you enter a suspicious website, inspect it for grammar mistakes, flashy ads, or poor design. Usually, criminals don’t invest too much time in polishing every sentence or illustration. You can also use cybersecurity tools like NordVPN’s Threat Protection to help you identify phishing websites.
Buy your tickets from trusted distributors. Even if you are not buying your tickets directly from organizers or official distributors, make sure the distributor you choose is well-known and has multiple reviews from its users.