The Canadian government’s budget plans this year involve helping citizens bag Taylor Swift concert tickets.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland revealed the budget and one of its fresh policies is centred around getting concert tickets to see the Anti-Hero singer for all. Pandering to Gen Z and millennials, the government’s latest move aims a clampdown on “fraudulent resellers” who swipe the golden opportunity from interested parties, only to sell them at extortionate prices via unfair means.
Tackling scalpers and ticket transparency, here’s what Canada’s budget entails for concertgoers.
Taylor Swift fans have especially been affected by the surge in concert ticket scams lately. Earlier this year, police in Vancouver Island warned Swifties to beware of these scams escalating at an alarming rate as these schemes advertising resale tickets for her sold-out Vancouver shows popped up on Facebook.
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West Shore RCMP reported “at least four complaints” about these frauds being facilitated on Facebook community groups in a statement on April 12. Cpl. Nancy Saggar conveyed that the Facebook user whose account was being used to scam multiple victims was hacked.
The statement reads: “The complainants advised police that they contacted the seller who claimed to have Taylor Swift concert tickets for sale, and subsequently sent money to the seller, but did not receive the tickets.”
After last year’s shows, Swift is scheduled to return to Vancouver’s BC Place for a three-day show from December 6 to 8. Additionally, she will delight the Toronto audience during her November shows for the Eras Tour.
These recent surfacing cases resemble Sunshine Coast resident Audra O’Loughlin’s experience from last year. She and her daughter paid a supposed seller $1,600 for 4 tickets. The scammer turned out to be an acquaintance of O’Loughlin’s colleague. In that case, too, the seller’s account had been compromised.
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Thousands of Canadians had to face the misfortune of having missed out on the pop star’s Toronto and Vancouver concert tickets. The Liberals have decided to change up the landscape surrounding these malicious scams.
The government promised to work in close connection with provinces to dole out “stronger protections” against the exorbitant ticketing fees, ensuring people receive their timely refunds in case of cancelled events.
Their new proactive stance to crack down on these issues will push for all fees to be displayed upfront, along with ticket prices. Moreover, the 2024 budget has basically turned into a big warning sign for all those scalpers who use bots to hoard in-demand tickets and resell them at jacked-up prices later.
