Facebook under fire for inaction on Taylor Swift ticket scam
Facebook is facing criticism from users who claim their accounts were hacked, and used to sell counterfeit tickets for Taylor Swift's UK concerts. The victims argue that the social media giant failed to address the fraudulent activity, leading to their friends being duped into buying these fake tickets and suffering financial losses. One victim, Kerry Plant from Worcester, expressed her frustration saying, "Had they reacted to this a bit sooner, then we could have prevented quite a bit of this."
Victim's efforts to halt scam ignored by company
Plant revealed that two of her Facebook friends were tricked into parting with over £300 each, due to fraudulent posts on her feed after her account was compromised. Despite contacting Facebook 15 times, reporting data breach, and attempting to reach them through other social media platforms, she received no response. "It's upset me quite a bit that I've not been able to stop this happening, and that Facebook hadn't responded to me, despite quite a lot of effort," Plant stated.
Another user's account exploited for counterfeit ticket sales
In a similar incident, Zhenya Winter from London found her account hacked and used to sell non-existent tickets. Despite not being at fault, Winter expressed remorse over the situation. She suspects that the fraudsters used artificial intelligence to imitate her writing style, making the scam post appear more credible. This sophisticated approach potentially contributed to the successful deception of unsuspecting buyers.
Facebook's inaction frustrates victims
Despite her numerous attempts to report the hack and reach out to Facebook, Winter received no response. She voiced her frustration at Facebook's lack of action. This sentiment echoes the experiences of other victims who also reported their concerns, but found their pleas for assistance unanswered by the social media giant.
Watchdog labels Facebook's non-response as 'unacceptable'
Consumer watchdog Which? has condemned Facebook's lack of response to reports of accounts being hijacked by fraudsters as "completely unacceptable." The organization suggested that OFCOM, the UK's communications regulator, should be prepared to take stringent measures against such lapses under the Online Safety Act. This could potentially include imposing fines on the social media platform, for its alleged failure to address these fraudulent activities.
