British Taylor Swift fans lose hundreds of euros in counterfeit notes

A record tour that provokes record scams: British fans of American star Taylor Swift have lost more than a million euros in counterfeit note scams on social networks, Lloyds bank estimated on Wednesday. Hundreds of fans of the singer were the targets of a

​​and sent money by bank transfer without ever receiving a ticket in return, each losing an average of 332 pounds, or 389 euros, a she said in a press release.

Between the opening for sale in July 2023 of tickets for the monumental tour The Eras Tour and March 2024, more than 600 Lloyds customers reported being victims of a scam,

, she indicated. Based on these figures, the British bank estimated that there have probably been

.

Most of the victims are between 25 and 34 years old, and 90% of them were scammed by false advertisements or posts on Facebook, Lloyds said. Dozens of unofficial groups have been created there with the aim of buying and reselling concert tickets for the tour of this global icon, notably via its classified ads platform Marketplace.

Some Swifties lost more than a thousand pounds (1,170 euros) thinking they would get the precious ticket for this sold-out European tour, six years after the American icon's last concert on British soil.

“With all UK dates now sold out, more and more fans are at risk of falling victim to scams in the coming weeks and months

,” predicted Lloyds, warning that payment by credit card or PayPal was more protective than a transfer.

According to the British bank, the number of concert ticket scams more than doubled last summer compared to the same period the previous year, with an average loss of 133 pounds (155 euros) for fans of Coldplay, Harry Styles or even Beyoncé. According to several estimates,

is on track to become the highest-grossing concert series in music history, well over a billion dollars.