An Ontario woman is warning others about the risks of purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets from resellers on social media sites.

She learned a costly lesson and lost $1,400.

“It’s a crime of opportunity, but it’s also very easy,” Andrea Accinelli, who lives in Unionville, Ontario, told Global News in a ticket fraud warning.

In August, Accinelli received an offer from a Facebook friend who claimed she had four tickets to sell for the Taylor Swift Eras Concert Tour on November 16 in Toronto.

Accinelli recognized the Facebook friend from a networking group that included other mutual friends, so she was not suspicious.

“I didn’t mind buying some if the price was right, and that was the case,” Accinelli said.

The cost? $350 each.

“Oh, wow, this is an opportunity. How incredible,” Accinelli remembered thinking.

“I was happy to see that this was a possibility.”

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She decided to buy all four tickets and sent the seller an electronic transfer from her bank account for $1,400.

Accinelli said she communicated with the seller several times after transferring the money, but the seller delayed sending the tickets for several days.

Finally, the seller emailed what looked like a ticket, but wasn’t one.

“Ticketmaster revealed that it wasn’t a real company and she (the seller) disappeared from Facebook,” Accinelli said.

Peel Police recently warned about the growing risks of buying Taylor Swift tickets on Facebook. They say scammers are hacking into legitimate accounts and making offers that aren’t real.

“The hackers then post to sell tickets cheaply. In most cases, it is just a prank and you are just sending your hard-earned money and getting nothing in return,” said Tyler Bell-Morena, a Peel Regional Police officer, in a video message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Accinelli filed a complaint with York Regional Police, who confirmed they had details of her case. But in situations like these, consumers almost never get their money back.

She told Global News that her intention was to make others aware of how easy it is to lose money when getting excited about the chance to buy Taylor Swift tickets.

“Make sure you get the person on the phone. If they don’t want to answer your calls, they’re probably not legitimate. Make sure they’re real people and don’t send any electronic transfers,” Accinelli said.

Selling concert tickets one-to-one can be extremely risky, even when you’re careful.

“I’m not going to starve because I lost $1,400, but at some point she might scam someone who might not recover from this.”

© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.