Ticket touts employing workers to bulk-buy for concerts

Touts Exploiting Overseas Workers to Bulk Buy Concert Tickets

Recent findings from a BBC investigation have revealed how ticket touts are capitalizing on the services of overseas workers to purchase tickets for major concerts featuring artists like Oasis and Taylor Swift with the sole purpose of reselling them at a profit. These touts, who are amassing vast fortunes, engage groups of individuals abroad known as “ticket pullers” to bolster their ticket inventory. An undercover reporter, masquerading as a prospective tout, recorded conversations with a prominent ticket pulling company in Pakistan, which offered to set up a dedicated team to secure large quantities of tickets.

The UK government has announced upcoming legislation aimed at curbing the activities of touts. However, critics argue that the proposed measures are insufficient in effectively addressing the issue. Following the initiation of ticket sales for Oasis concerts, for instance, it was observed that resale platforms such as StubHub and Viagogo were listing tickets at exorbitant mark-ups of over £6,000, representing a substantial increase compared to their original value. This phenomenon leads to genuine fans either being unable to secure tickets or resorting to purchasing them at greatly inflated prices due to the pervasive influence of touts.

One individual, identified as Ali, who orchestrates ticket acquisition in conjunction with his team, boasted of securing hundreds of tickets for high-demand concerts, including performances by Coldplay and Oasis. Ali highlighted the lucrative nature of these operations, citing a UK-based tout who purportedly earned over £500,000 by capitalizing on similar practices. References to the utilization of illegal means such as automated software and deceptive identities to secure tickets underscore the morally dubious tactics employed by these entities in the pursuit of their objectives. Furthermore, the prevalence of fraudulent methods, as exemplified by an illicit online gathering that allegedly obtained substantial ticket volumes through unauthorized methods, signifies the inherent complexities and ethical dilemmas inherent in this domain

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More