Toronto police charge woman in Taylor Swift ticket scam that cost victims $70,000

A Burlington, Ont. woman who allegedly sold fake tickets to Taylor Swift’s concerts in Toronto and scammed fans out of tens of thousands of dollars is facing charges, police say.

Investigators said the suspect used Facebook Marketplace to advertise the ticket sales and provided dates and seat locations for the sold-out dates at Rogers Centre earlier this month.

Once the victims agreed to make a purchase, they sent the suspect full payment, police said. Investigators believe that some of these fraudulent tickets were purchased from the suspect as early as August 2023, when tickets first went on sale.

Police said that the suspect advised victims that the tickets wouldn’t be available until days before the concert. When the 28 alleged victims went to access their tickets on the concert date, police said, the tickets were not available.

“When victims requested their money back, the accused alleged that the money was gone,” police said in a news release issued Tuesday.

The suspect has been identified as Denise Tisor. Police said she made nearly $70,000 by orchestrating the alleged scheme.

When CTV News Toronto spoke with Tisor last week, she alleged she too was a victim and had filed a police report herself.

CTV News Toronto also spoke with a number of other people who allege they were victimized by Tisor. They claimed Tisor, who used the name “Denise Blackhawk” online, accepted nearly $300,000 for over 400 tickets. Those individuals also said they felt confident Tisor could get them the tickets because they knew her, and many had purchased tickets from her in the past.

Toronto police said they are working with Halton police on the ongoing investigation. Earlier this month, Halton police revealed that they were investigating local reports of Taylor Swift ticket fraud. However, police there would not confirm whether Tisor had been identified as a suspect in their investigation.

Toronto police arrested Tisor on Nov. 25 and charged her with fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, 32 counts of fraud under $5,000, and 32 counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000.

Police believe there are more victims and are asking anyone who bought a fake ticket to submit an online police report.

Tisor is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Jan. 10. 

With files from Sean Leathong