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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Beware of scammers that grow every springtime with tempting ticket offers

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 Above / Spring baseball brings ticket scammers out of hibernation for Opening Day. Summer travel discount offers can be bogus, too. Concert-goers also need to be mindful of  bogus ticket offers. Remember! If a deal sounds too good to be true…it likely is… Beware of scams and frauds. Know the vendor.

Tips to prevent getting scammed

  • Know that buying tickets from unknown sources is like buying tickets in a dark alley. Fake tickets, especially for sought after events, have become common. 
  • Purchase from the venue. Whenever possible, use the official ticket sales agent for the venue or visit the box office direct when possible. 
  • Consider your source. Know the difference between a professional ticket broker (a legitimate and accredited reseller), a ticket scalper (an unregulated and unlicensed ticket seller), and a scammer selling fraudulent tickets. 
  • Buy only from trusted vendors. Check out the seller/broker. Look them up on bbb.org to learn what other customers have experienced. 
  • Buy online only from vendors you know and trust. Don’t click through from emails or online ads; a common scam trick is to create a web address that is similar to a well-known company. 
  • Know the refund policy. You should only purchase tickets from a ticket reseller that provides clear details about the terms of the transaction. Sellers should disclose to the purchaser, prior to purchase, and the exact location of the seats represented by the tickets. Know what happens when concerts cancel or change dates. 
  • Use payment methods that come with protection. Always use a credit card so you have some recourse if the tickets are not as promised. Debit cards, wire transfer or cash transactions are risky; if the tickets are fraudulent, you won’t be able to get your money back.  
  • Be wary of advertisements. When you search the web for online tickets, advertisements for cheap tickets will often appear. Use good judgment; some of these ads are going to be scams, especially if the prices are low.   

Better Business Bureau

 
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Chicago and Northern Illinois which was founded in 1926 and serves counties from Northwest Illinois across the State to Kankakee and all the areas in between. 
 

To report a scam, go to BBB Scam Tracker (BBB.org/scamtracker).

To protect yourself from all kinds of scams, visit the BBB Scam Tips page (BBB.org/scamtips).  

 
Story submitted by BBB Serving Chicago & Northern Illinois.

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

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