Writing for the Daily Mirror, Fraud Minister Lord Hanson warns that fraudsters are hoping for a bonanza when the Premier League and WSL season starts up again after pocketing millions in the last two years
As a diehard Liverpool fan, the new football season means the chance to see if Arne Slot’s side can win back-to-back titles for the first time in more than forty years, and go ahead of Manchester United again in the all-time list.
Every other supporter will go into the new season with their own hopes and dreams, and for fans of the Women’s Super League, it will also be a chance to welcome the Lionesses back from their own back-to-back triumph in the Euros.
I have no doubt that football fans across the country will be scrambling to get hold of tickets for the big kick-off, as we all hope to witness scenes as electric as those we’ve seen in the past year.
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But amid all that excitement, I’m urging football fans across the country to stay alert to the risk of fraud. Because, sadly, wherever there is high demand, and desperation not to miss out, fraudsters are never far behind. And the data is shocking.
According to figures published today by Lloyds Bank and the Home Office, over the past two years, an estimated £2.5 million has been stolen from hard-working football fans, with more than 12,000 people being scammed whilst trying get hold of tickets.
And this is about more than numbers. Because whilst the financial losses are big, the emotional and psychological toll can be even bigger – when fans are plunged from the high of thinking they’re going to a big match to the utter misery of realising they’ve been conned.
And the scammers are targeting football fans throughout the country. Supporters of my own club Liverpool are at the highest risk of being targeted by scammers, with Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, following them in the list of fans most frequently targeted.
Scams are also taking place in Scotland and Wales, with the data showing Celtic and Rangers fans getting defrauded, and Wrexham supporters being targeted too as the price for their meteoric rise back to the second tier.
Sadly, this is an issue that cuts across age divides, with young people aged 25 to 34 at highest risk of being ripped off. And with more than three-quarters of these football ticket scams taking place on social media platforms, I continue to urge tech companies to go further and faster to protect the public from fraud.
The new Online Safety Act will help by requiring those firms to remove fraudulent content from their platforms, but we shouldn’t need a stick like that to get everyone on the same side against the scam artists. That’s why I’m working with industry, law enforcement, the banks and consumer groups, to ensure we’re all working together to tackle this problem and protect ordinary people from being ripped off.
It’s also why our new, expanded Fraud Strategy later this year will put public awareness at its heart, to ensure that money stays in working people’s pockets as part of this Government’s Plan for Change. So ahead of the new season, I’m urging anyone looking for last-minute or resale football tickets to remember three simple words: Stop. Think. Fraud.
Buy tickets only from official club websites, ticket offices, or authorised partners. Do not trust offers advertised on social media, however convincing they may seem. Always use a secure, recommended payment method, and never transfer funds directly to strangers.
To echo the late, great Bill Shankly, football is more than just a sport in the UK – it is our national game. But in the excitement not to miss out, we must all be on our guard for scams. Together, let’s kick fraud out of football.
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