Lloyds Bank warning as Oasis fans lose average of £346 each

Oasis fans who have fallen victim to scams amid the rush to buy tour tickets have lost £346 on average, according to analysis by a major bank of reports made by its own customers. Some have seen up to £1,000 stolen, Lloyds Bank said.

People aged 35 to 44 years old are the most likely to have been duped, the bank said, making up nearly a third (31%) of cases in its analysis. Its figures were based on purchase scams reported by Lloyds Banking Group customers, including customers of Lloyds and its sister brands Halifax and Bank of Scotland, where Oasis was referenced as part of the claim, between August 27 and September 25.

In general, ticket scams often involve fake adverts, posts or listings on social media, offering tickets at discounted prices or access to events that have already sold out at inflated prices, the bank said. Victims are asked to pay upfront for the tickets and once payment is made, the scammers vanish.

Analysis by Lloyds of scam reports made by its own customers found there were hundreds of ticket fraud claims during the month-long period it looked at, with Oasis fans making up around 70% of reported concert ticket scams. More than 90% of reported cases started with fake adverts or posts on social media, Lloyds’ analysis suggests.

Liz Ziegler, fraud prevention director at Lloyds, said: “Predictably fraudsters wasted no time in targeting loyal Oasis fans as they scrambled to pick up tickets for next year’s must-see reunion tour.”

She added: “Buying directly from reputable, authorised retailers is the only way to guarantee you’re paying for a genuine ticket. If you’re asked to pay via bank transfer, particularly by a seller you’ve found on social media, that should immediately set alarm bells ringing.”

Lloyds warned that ticket scams often occur in two waves – the first when tickets are released for sale, and the second as the event date approaches. Mandatory reimbursement rules came into force last month, overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) for people who are tricked into transferring money to a fraudster.

Under the new rules, banks must reimburse authorised push payment (APP) fraud victims, unless the customer has been grossly negligent. A reimbursement limit of £85,000 has been applied under the rules, although banks can choose to go further than this and repay higher amounts.

The new protections apply when a transfer is made to and from a UK bank account. They cover transactions made from October 7 onwards and do not apply retrospectively. Previously, a voluntary reimbursement code was in place, alongside some banks making their own refund guarantees.