Study reveals football fans in England duped of £2.5m by fraudsters

"Ruthless" fraudsters have duped football fans in England to the tune of an estimated £2.5m over a period of two years, according to a report in BBC Sport. Authorities have urged the fans to be beware when buying match tickets online after a study revealed the eye-watering amount the fans have lost to scammers since 2023

According to Lloyds Bank's estimation, at least 12,000 supporters have been afflicted by ticket fraud across the past two campaigns, with their own customers losing close to £500,000.

Nationwide, more than £2.5m has been lost to ticket scammers.

To help fans learn from the past, a campaign named The 'Stop! Think Fraud' has been established. The main motive of the campaign is to raise awareness of online purchase scams, which lure people by offering match tickets for sold-out matches, often at discounted prices.

"Fraud is a ruthless crime that preys on our passions, our trust, and our excitement," said Lord Hanson, the Minister for Fraud.

"More than three quarters of football ticket scams last season started on social media, with what seem like genuine 'first come, first served' offers all too often designed to rip off desperate fans."

Hanson urged the supporters to "only buy tickets directly from clubs, their official partners and legitimate resale outlets".

The largest number of fans targetted by the scammers is most likely from Liverpool, followed by fans from Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea

With almost 28% of cases, young adults aged between 25-34 were the most frequent victims of ticket scams, followed by supporters aged 18-24 (26%).

Authorities are hoping 'Stop! Think Fraud' campaign will curb the ticket fraud from the upcoming season. Meanwhile, the new Premier League rules, applicable from the 2026-27 season, require clubs to offer 70% of their tickets digitally, which will also act as a great defence to external ticket adverts.