In today’s age of scams, one wrong move could create a “swift” reaction and fill consumers’ inboxes and social media sites with links and offers that might ruin their day. Just ask Taylor Swift.
The singer-songwriter’s new album – ‘The Tortured Poet’s Department’ (TTPD) – is set to be released soon, but the album was reportedly leaked early and it’s causing a commotion across the digital landscape.
If what Swift has said in the past about album leaks is true, she’s probably none too happy about this situation. “I have a lot of maybe, maybe-not-irrational fears of security invasion, wiretaps, people eavesdropping,” Swift said in an earlier appearance on ”Jimmy Kimmel Live.” And her fans should follow suit in this situation with the TTPD leak, too.
Shady downloads and phishing ploys
Scammers love to jump on the bandwagon of anything hot and if any of them lay hands on the album’s files, they’re already off to the races. Taylor Swift fans probably don’t want to wait until the album officially comes out on Spotify or is available at Target, but they should for these very reasons:
Shady downloads: Those links promising the leaked album? They could be hiding malware that'll wreck your device or steal your info. Big nope.
Phishing ploys: Watch out for fake websites or social media accounts that say they have the TTPD album early. All they want is your login info for streaming services or other accounts.
Bogus merch: Scammers might try to throw an extra line in the water to try and sell you fake merch like t-shirts or "signed" copies tied to the leak. Not a good idea.
Here's how to be a savvy Swiftie
If you’re a Swiftie or have children who are, advise them to stick to official sources like Taylor's website or legit streaming platforms for your music fix. That means resisting any and all of those "leak" links or downloads – they're probably trouble.
And whatever you do, keep your login info private. There’s no reason why any website should need it for early access to the album.
By staying smart, you can avoid these scams and enjoy the new album the way it's meant to be – when it officially drops!