A music fan has described how scammers hijacked her Instagram account to sell fake Oasis tickets to her friends, stealing £1,400 in the process. Lauren Jones, whose name has been changed, was targeted after attending a gig, with hackers taking over her account and posting an offer for four tickets to Oasis's Wembley Stadium concert on 26 July.
The scammers impersonated Jones so convincingly that even her sister believed she had tickets to sell. Victims were asked to pay into a Revolut account, with the fraudsters claiming it belonged to the friend who originally bought the tickets. Jones spent days fielding messages from contacts, many of whom nearly sent money. She remains locked out of her account, with Instagram refusing to recognise the fraud.
Official data shows £1.6m was lost to gig ticket fraud last year, more than double the previous year. Lloyds Banking Group reported that Oasis fans lost over £2m to scams by March 2025, with an average loss of £436 per victim. Some fans handed over more than £1,700.
Cybersecurity experts warn that scammers are using hacked social media accounts to exploit trust. Jake Moore of ESET said: 'It's not an Oasis Facebook group which is completely random – buying tickets there would be a complete gamble. Instead, they're buying from people they know.' The fraudsters often replicate the account holder's messaging style to appear genuine.
