Revolut warns rugby fans of rise in Six Nations ticket scams
Ellen O'Donoghue
Revolut has warned rugby fans about a rise in Six Nations ticket scams.
The digital bank has reported a third more ticket scam victims in Ireland in the build-up to the Ireland vs France game on Saturday.
Rugby fans aged 25-34 are the most vulnerable potential victims, it said.
Revolut reported 33 per cent more ticket scam victims in Ireland over the final two weeks of February compared to the first two.
The bank urged people to be extra diligent and mindful of potential scams to help protect their money from fraudsters.
Ticket scams were most prevalent on social media platforms Facebook, X, and WhatsApp.
Malcolm Craig, general manager of Revolut Bank’s Ireland branch, said the bank knows how important the Six Nations is to many of their customers across all competing nations, “but none more so than Ireland, where Irish rugby fans are so anxious to support their team”.
“Sadly, fraudsters capitalise on the scarcity and demand for these events, particularly ahead of Championship-defining matches such as this weekend’s. We urge customers not to panic-buy or fall for offers that are too good to be true,” Mr Craig said.
“The security of our customers’ money is our absolute priority and we firmly advise people to only purchase tickets from trusted ticketing platforms that offer clear protections against fraudulent sellers.”
Some tactics identified by Revolut that are commonly used by scammers include it being impossible to meet in person to exchange or transfer the tickets, using unofficial sites or social media market places where there are fewer verifications, and the cost being too good to be true.
Other tactics include fraudsters pressuring victims into paying quickly or risk the tickets being sold to someone else, faking multiple offers to distract from telltale signs, and sending photos or screenshots of legitimate looking digital tickets to build confidence.
These screenshots are often fake and fraudsters have nothing to transfer.
Revolut has more than three million customers in Ireland, and the bank said that it takes fraud and the industry-wide risk of customers being coerced by organised criminals “incredibly seriously.”
The bank’s financial crime team now makes up more than a third of the company’s total global workforce of 10,000 employees.
In 2023, Revolut prevented over €550 million in potential fraud against its customers.
