3 March 2025
Natalie Barr (Host): Well, as we kick off into footy season, the Australian Banking Association is urging Aussies to remain vigilant with ticketing scams.
Matt Shervington (Host): People buying resale tickets to footy games on social media are being told to watch out for the warning signs as the growing number of criminals take advantage of keen fans.
Natalie Barr: For more, we’re joined by Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh, good morning. This is a huge problem on social media, isn’t it, when Aussies buy resale tickets for footy games, what are the warning signs?
Anna Bligh: Yes Nat, as footy season gets going, it’s unfortunately game on for ticket scammers. The things to look out for is be very very careful, if you’re on any of the online marketplaces, you should always be buying your tickets to big events, including big football games – big sold out events – on authorised ticket selling sites, and those sites also have their own authorised resale sites, so look out for those legitimate avenues. Unfortunately, many millions of dollars are lost to these online selling scams, and far too many of them are for big sporting events during football season.
Matt Shervington: Yeah, that’s right. So obviously it’s all season long, but not one specific code, the AFL, of course, the NRL, final State of Origin, too.
Anna Bligh: State of Origin is a real danger time, because those games are most likely to be sold out, so are semi-finals, finals, any of those big sold-out events, ticket scammers will be out there trying to take advantage of the excitement and passion of very fervent fans. So, there are resale tickets available, but get them through the authorised sites. These scammers know how much fans care about their teams, and they’re out there trying to take advantage of it. So, the big online selling platforms, the big online marketplaces, people don’t realise, but they’re not regulated by anything. So, you really take your chances on those sites, and people pay big money for some of these tickets and then get to the game and, of course, don’t get in the gate.
Natalie Barr: Yeah, it’s just criminal, isn’t it? Well, it actually is. What are the safest websites Anna?
Anna Bligh: Well, they’re all the big names that you’ve heard of, going to places like Ticketek, they have their own authorised reselling sites. So, there are legitimate people who buy a ticket and then something happens in their lives that means they can’t go to the game and they are allowed to resell them on these resale sites. So go to the legitimate sites, go to the authorised sites. Don’t let your excitement and your passion for your team drive onto those other places. Also be very careful if someone asks you to transfer money directly to their account, or, even more worryingly, to a crypto account, go through the legitimate, authorised company sites.
Matt Shervington: Yeah, watch out for the red flags. Anna, thanks for your time.
Ends
Latest news
Michael McLaren (Host): Well, here we are at the Easter Show, the great celebration of country life in the city, but it’s also an important platform this to better understand the challenges that the regions face. Now, yesterday, we looked at the floods. Today, I want to look at the banks. Now in the regions,… Read more »
The ABA is reminding customers across North and Far North Queensland that they don’t have to tough it out on their own, as they continue to recover from February’s severe flooding event. ABA CEO Anna Bligh recently met with Queensland’s State Recovery Coordinator Andrew Cripps to discuss how banks can assist customers facing financial difficulty… Read more »
Banks stand ready to support customers in western Queensland and parts of New South Wales affected by heavy rainfall and flooding. ABA CEO Anna Bligh said customers don’t have to tough it out on their own and banks have a range of practical measures to assist those facing financial stress. “This is a challenging time… Read more »