TICKET SCAMS - BEWARE

9/6/2007

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With college football underway, the NFL kicking off and baseball pennant races and playoffs, we warn consumers and business leaders to be on the lookout for fraudulent sellers when shopping for tickets online.

The secondary-ticket market is a $10-billion-a-year industry, with online sales accounting for one-third of transactions. It is also a breeding ground for scammers, such as we saw at the end of 2005 when Mark West sold non-existent Ohio State - Michigan tickets on eBay from his home in Fostoria.

From our BBBOnLine database of more than 30,000 online businesses, we know that a number of secondary-market ticket firms offer highly regulated Web sites, providing buyer protections that include money-back guarantees on the legitimacy of tickets. For example, TicketsNow.com takes possession of tickets and verifies them in-house before listing for resale. StubHub and RazorGator hold seller's credit-card numbers - if they sell fake tickets, they get charged for the replacements.

It is on the hundreds of online auctions, online classifieds, and bulletin boards using person-to-person sales that sports fans need to be the most alert. Every big sporting event is followed by complaints from people who got ripped off buying fake tickets - invariably online.

Sports fans get burned online by either paying for counterfeit tickets or tickets that never arrive. Even if they do arrive, they are sometimes not for the seats the seller advertised - being stuck with seats that aren't next to each other, up in the nosebleed section, or with an obstructed view.

* When buying from a merchant, always look for the BBBOnLine seal. The logo will tell you that you're dealing with a company that has a good reputation and secure Web site for processing your payment.
* When buying from an individual through an online exchange like eBay, don't be lured away from the Web site by the seller. This is a common trick for con artists.
* If you buy tickets through an online auction, choose a seller with a long history of satisfied customers. Scammers can hijack old accounts, so make sure they have recently bought or sold other items.
* Never pay with a cashier's check or wire money to the seller; you'll have no way to get your money back if the tickets never arrive. Pay with a credit card or through PayPal, which offer some amount of protection and potential reimbursement.
* Many sellers will include pictures of the tickets with their posts on auction sites or bulletin boards. Scrutinize the tickets closely for any inaccuracies or alterations, and cross-check the seat assignment with the map on the venue's Web site before you buy.
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