As Welcome Week hit Exeter University many students turned to Overheard – a Facebook group popular among students for advice, ticket resells, and room rentals – to find tickets for sold-out club nights. A Journo Request put out by Exeposé on the platform found that roughly one in three students (31%) had been a victim of scamming when attempting to purchase tickets through the group.
A Journo Request put out by Exeposé on the platform found that roughly one in three students (31%) had been a victim of scamming when attempting to purchase tickets through the group.
The scamming has been defined as money being given to the “ticket holder” but no ticket comes to fruition.
Club tickets, which are in very high demand especially during the first few weeks back at university, can be marked up as much as 900%. In the Journo request, some students have paid up to £25 for a single Timepiece ticket when the original cost is £2.80. Typically, beyond freshers’ week, students are willing to spend between £10-15 for a second-hand ticket for nightclubs depending on the day of the week.
Club tickets, which are in very high demand especially during the first few weeks back at university, can be marked up as much as 900%.
A third-year student, when speaking on the matter of scamming during Welcome Week, comments “I just wanted to enjoy a TP Wednesday with my mates, spent the money to secure a ticket and it turned out the person wasn’t even a student at Exeter, let alone in possession of a TP ticket!”
When asked in the survey about how to spot a scammer, nearly 82% of students said that they could easily spot one. They said that some tell-tale signs are: edited dates and times on their ticket proof of purchase, and asking for payment through PayPal friends and family. Some students offered tips for spotting a scammer, such as checking their profile to see if it’s evident that they only just joined the group and they have no posts or mutual friends.
As the term moves forward, students are urged to be mindful of those they are buying their tickets from, especially as Overheard grows in popularity.
