Taylor Swift is officially in Australia and has already kicked off her Eras tour in Melbourne.

 

The US pop superstar, 34, touched down in the Victorian captial on Thursday morning at approximately 12.40am before performing to a sold-out crowd of 96,000 dedicated fans at the MCG on Friday night.

But it hasn’t all been smoothe sailing for Swift and her fans in the lead up to the concerts.

Hundreds of Swifties have gone to extra measures in order to have the best experience possible, while some have been let down over scams and price gouging.

So, could Taylor Swift’s Eras tour be cursed with bad luck? Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the several issues that have sparked ahead of the singer’s sold-out performances.

Swifties are eagerly awaiting Taylor’s sold-out Eras tour Down Under and many are still trying to get their hands on tickets.

But several fans have been left devastated after their tickets have reportedly disappeared amid a rise in scams.

Scamwatch, a website run by the ACCC to detect scams, said 273 concertgoers had so far been duped into purchasing fake tickets to Swift’s Era’s Tour in February.

The competition watchdog has estimated that Aussies have lost more than $135,000 to the scam so far with that figure expected to grow.

Some fans have claimed that their tickets have suddenly ‘disappeared’ or their accounts have been hacked, while others have fallen victim to online scammers posing as people who are selling tickets.

Fake tickets are being resold with scammers who claim to be selling tickets to the concert contacting fans on social media.

One scam post tells users that a person who was going to the concert is now unable to attend and instead offers another social media user the tickets at a lower price.

The scammer ask users to pay an extra fee to have the ticket changed under their name and may rush the buyer into purchasing the ‘high demand’ tickets.

Once the user has paid for the ticket, they are discovering no ticket is forthcoming and they’re no longer able to contact the scammer.

Concertgoers have been urged not to buy tickets on social media and have been advised to buy them from an authorised ticket seller.

Police have urged fans to be on the lookout for scammers if trying to source any last minute tickets for the Eras tour.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s Cybercrime Squad explained how scammers are targeting eager fans with fake ticket sales on social media and gave advice on how to spot the scams.

The statement read: ‘Capitalising on demand for tickets, scammers are targeting fans with fake ticket sales through social media, often hacking accounts of individuals and then using the profiles to sell fake tickets to the victim’s friends.’

‘The scammers will advertise their tickets ‘at cost price’, with a story behind why they can no longer attend.’

‘Check it once, then check it twice – they may try to rush you into buying the tickets and transferring them money. As well as the ticket price, they’ll likely ask you to pay the extra fees to change the name on the ticket.

‘They will often send what they purport to be a screenshot of the email confirmation of having bought the tickets, making the scam look more legitimate.

‘Then, once you’ve transferred the money, life will lose all its meaning for the last time, and the profile will block you.’

Victoria Police said it has already received at least 250 reports of ticketing scams – totalling more than $260,000 – since the Eras Tour kicked off in June last year.

Price gouging

Fans have also suffered from an inflating cost of flights and accommodation.

So much so, some Swifties are contending with greedy Airbnb owners who are taking advantage of Taylor Swift tourism in Sydney and Melbourne.

Despite booking out accommodation months in advance in preparation for the popstar’s Eras tour, countless Swifties have found themselves losing their rooms at the last minute as Airbnb hosts price gouge other desperate fans by relisting the properties at a higher cost.

One fan from Gunnedah, NSW said she secured accommodation near the MCG between February 16 and 20 for $630, only for the host to cancel her booking a week before the show.

She was told the host wanted to ‘redo the carpets’ and would subsequently need to cancel her booking. But two days later, she discovered the Airbnb host had relisted the property she originally secured for $1,347.

The host listed the same four nights as vacant, charging $717 more than what Jasmine was originally charged.

Others have claimed their rooms were cancelled for ‘family reasons’ or ‘plumbing issues’ before being relisted just days later for hundreds more dollars.

Airbnb has a host cancellation policy which ‘may impose fees and other consequences such as blocking a host from relisting on the same dates that were cancelled,’ a spokesperson said.

Given the cost of tour tickets, interstate flights, and costumes, among other things, some Swifties could be out thousands of dollars if they are unable to find alternative accommodation after having their Airbnb bookings cancelled.

Meanwhile, concertgoers who don’t live in Sydney or Melbourne are taking drastic measures to travel to the shows, and considering commuting to the cities via private jets.

Flight Centre have revealed commercial flights from Brisbane to Melbourne cost approximately $569 for the February 16 show.

The following week, the same route drops dramatically to $118.

A one-way economy flight with Jetstar from Brisbane to Sydney on February 23, coinciding with Swift’s first Sydney tour date, is priced between $399 to $460. In contrast, the same flight a week earlier ranges from $92 to $123.