We would urge those planning to buy tickets or attend this summer’s events and concerts to stay vigilant to criminals, with the total combined loss increasing nearly 50% from 2023 to £9.7 million in 2024.

Data revealed there was a rise in both ticket fraud reporting and financial losses in 2024 from 2023. The combined reported financial loss for 2023 was £6,694,955, which went up by 47 per cent in 2024 to £9,794,034. Ticket fraud reporting also revealed there was a total of 9,826 ticket fraud reports in 2024, an 11 per cent increase from 8,719 reports in 2023.

Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime reporting service, has launched a ticket fraud awareness campaign ahead of the summer, urging people to stay alert for criminals who are trying to sell tickets online or on social media for top events and sold-out concerts.

The warning comes as reporting insights revealed June and July had the highest levels of reporting, with 1,067 reports of ticket fraud in June and 887 in July.

Of the reports made to Action Fraud last year, 38 per cent of reports (3,771) mentioned concert tickets, 23 per cent of reports (2,351) mentioned travel and 16 per cent of reports (1,617) mentioned sporting events. 

How to protect yourself from ticket fraud:

If you receive a suspicious email, report it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk. For more advice on how to stay secure online, please visit cyberaware.gov.uk.

Find out how to protect yourself from fraud: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk