How scammers are luring tennis enthusiasts into buying bogus Australian Open tickets

Thousands of diehard tennis fans have been warned of the promise of lucrative tickets to this year’s Australian Open.

Thousands of diehard tennis fans looking for cheap tickets to the Australian Open have been warned to be on the lookout as scammers try a new con to steal people’s money and personal information.

Swindlers have already been preparing ahead of the massive competition as tennis enthusiasts attempt to get tickets for the remaining days until January 28.

Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity expert at VPN provider NordVPN, said fans were exposing themselves to crooks in the hope of getting seats at any cost.

Scammers have resorted to offering “fake” tickets to the Australian Open at highly discounted prices in a bid to con Aussies into handing over their cash and personal information. Picture: Getty Images

“People tend to let their guard down whenever they feel like the safe option is too expensive or they missed a chance to buy tickets to their favourite sports event from an official ticket seller,” Mr Warmenhoven said.

“This way, they expose themselves to greedy scammers waiting for someone to make a mistake, give out their data, or transfer money into malicious hand.”

The renewed warning follows cybersecurity experts revealing AI voice impersonation scams were among the top five emerging cons to watch out for over 2024.

They can be created with as little as “three seconds” of audio from social media, voicemail or video on a website and dupe loved ones into paying money.

Mr Warmenhoven said scammers were becoming more elaborate in their cons by creating phishing websites using similar URLs to official ticket distributors.

He said this was a bid to look more legitimate and dupe people into sales.

“Any website that resells tickets should be approached with extreme caution,” Mr Warmenhoven said.
“They could be used to steal not only money but also payment card information or other personal information, which could be later sold on the dark web.”

The warning comes as diehard tennis fans seek to get tickets to the last days of the tournament, but one expert has warned people to be vigilant about buying online. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Mr Warmenhoven urged people not to be fooled by lower prices – something resellers would usually not offer as tickets were not often sold cheaper than official distributors.

“If you enter a suspicious website, inspect it for grammar mistakes, flashy ads, or poor design,” he said.

“Usually, criminals don’t invest too much time in polishing every sentence or illustration.”

During last year’s Australian Open, a Victorian man lost $600 for tickets which never arrived, after purchasing them through a resale website.

Patrick, from Glenroy in Melbourne’s north, paid for concert tickets from a resale website that never arrived and which were selling for much less through a reseller.

Under Victorian law, tickets to a declared major event can’t be advertised for resale or resold for more than 10 per cent above their original value.

Ticket package sellers are also required to be authorised by the event organiser, and individual ticket advertisements must also include ticket and seating details.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan last year announced the laws would also cover scalpers attempting to exploit sales for Taylor Swift’s highly-coveted Eras tour.

Originally published as How scammers are luring tennis enthusiasts into buying bogus Australian Open tickets