Scammers have been posing as Arctic Monkeys’ agent to book artists for fake 2025 world tour
Scammers have been posing as Arctic Monkeys’ agent to book artists for a fake 2025 world tour.
The scammers have been posing as 13 Artists founder and agent Charlie Myatt, soliciting bookings for a fake Arctic Monkeys tour in 2025.
13 Artists told IQ magazine that a “deluge” of fraudulent emails have been reported to them in the last few days.
The emails, titled ‘CONFIDENTIAL – Arctic Monkeys – Midnight Mirage World Tour 2025’, were sent from a bogus address news@13-artists.net and see the sender asking the recipients reply to another bogus address, charlie.myatt@13-artists.com.
The fraudsters appear to have even made a fake website that’s almost identical to the Brighton-based agency’s real one.
Both the fabricated website and the scam email contain phone numbers (+44 20 3290 3795 and +44 79 0719 2974), neither of which belong to 13 Artists.
The UK’s Entertainment Agents’ Association has previously issued a checklist if they are unsure of the validity of an email, urging promoters to check the email address and ring the agency to confirm if there are any doubts. They also advise to check an artist’s website for conflicting touring plans and make contact with the agent via phone.
They also advise “Before sending a deposit, call the agency to confirm the booking and check their account details” and “check with promoters in other markets to verify the artist is touring in that region at that time.” They add: “If an offer is accepted and seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
Back in November, it was revealed that Oasis fans who fell victim to ticket scams for their upcoming reunion tour have lost £346 each on average.
Tickets for the UK dates first went on sale in August, with 1.4million up for grabs. They promptly sold out after 10million fans from 158 countries joined the queue.
Last month, Lloyds Bank reported a “landslide” of scams surrounding Noel and Liam Gallagher‘s highly-awaited return to the stage, with “hundreds” of fans reportedly defrauded while attempting to buy tickets – per The Guardian.
The banking group’s internal data showed that 90 per cent of ticket scam cases started with fake adverts on social media, with those aged between 35 and 44 among the most likely to be targeted, making up 31 per cent of all cases. On average, victims lost £346, however some reported paying up to £1,000 for fraudulent tickets.
The data relates to the period between August 27, when Oasis confirmed their reunion, to September 25. During that time, Oasis fans made up 70 per cent of all reported concert ticket scams. Lloyds have added that the total is likely to be higher now.
Facebook and Facebook Marketplace were among the most common sources for scam tickets, a bank spokesperson said. “A simple search of Facebook reveals numerous unofficial groups have been set up, many boasting tens of thousands of members, dedicated to buying and selling tickets for the Oasis tour.
“This is despite Meta’s own commerce policy stating that the sale of concert tickets is ‘not allowed’ on the platform,” they added. Meta responded, saying it was “committed to protecting our users from fraudulent activities”, and advised users to report posts they think could be scams, per The Guardian.
Lloyds also said the amount spent on concert tickets has recently “soared”, with fans spending an average of £563 per debit card transaction on ticketing sites the day the Oasis tour went on sale. The year before, when Taylor Swift’s UK tour tickets were released, fans typically spent an average of £342.
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Elizabeth Aubrey
NME
