I spent £700 on Oasis tickets - then learned I'd been scammed
We speak to a dad who thought he was getting a face-value deal from a social media friend on a messaging service
An Oasis fan who was scammed out of £700 pounds buying reunion tickets is warning us how easily he fell for it.
Michael from St Helens thought he was talking with a Facebook friend offering Heaton Park tickets but turned out it was hackers who fleeced him.
He hopes that sharing his story will make people aware of the risks.
Oasis fan scammed for reunion tickets
He decided to take the plunge on the in-demand tickets when a second wave for last summer's UK tour was announced.
He'd tried through legitimate sources, but missed out.
Both he and his daughter then saw an offer from someone linked to them both on Facebook looking for £700 for four - and they approached them through the website's messenger service.
Michael told us: "It was the first night at Heaton Park, so it built it up even more.
"(When paying) my niece's friend said it's not her bank account, it was a friend who had the tickets.
"We should have seen the red flag then. We still never thought. We thought we had a chance to get the tickets, first night, Heaton Park, let's do it!"
The tickets never showed up.
The friend's account had been hacked and was being used to take cash from Oasis fans keen to see the big show.
Pressure to see the big Oasis tour
Michael never managed to see the Manchester legends on their new tour, and he's thought twice about buying tickets online again.
"It's like getting burgled, your house is your castle, and that first time it gets burgled, you don't want to do the same thing again because you feel vulnerable - and its the same with the tickets."
26% of people have bought tickets on social media which turned out to be fake
Get Safe Online has launched Ticket Safety Expert to help fans stay safe online ahead of a busy year of live events with Harry Styles, BTS and The World Cup in 2026.
One in four have bought tickets on social media because they seemed cheap, only for them to turn out to be fake, losing an average of £258.
And that's reflected in public trust on social media sites, with less than half of us trusting what we see being sold on the major social platforms.
But it still doesn't put everyone off, with 45% reported they would still risk losing money buying on social media, even if they suspected it might be fake.
Ticket Safety Expert Nick Hawe said: “Ahead of a stellar year of live events it’s alarming to see that 55% of Brits aren’t able to spot a ticket scam."