By Stan Ashbee
Summer is a time to check out live outdoor concerts and sporting events, but ticket-buyers beware — scammers are out there too!
Last year, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) received more than 140 reports about ticket scams related to sporting events, concerts, theatre, and more.
The BBB encourages you to be smart when searching for and purchasing tickets to ensure you purchase from a trustworthy source. The BBB and the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) are working to raise awareness and educate fans about the smartest ways to buy tickets on the secondary resale market.
Tips for buying tickets:
- 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 scam tickets.
- Sign up for alerts. Many venues and official ticket platforms offer email or app notifications for presales, special offers, or alerts when tickets become available. This can help you avoid the need to purchase from unverified resellers.
- Check out the seller/broker. Look them up on BBB.org to learn what other customers have experienced. Check to see if they are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers.
- Buy only from trusted vendors. Buy online only from vendors you know and trust. Look for the lock symbol in the web address to indicate a secure purchasing system. Don’t click through emails or online ads. A common ticket scam trick is to create a web address similar to a well-known company.
- Consider ticket insurance. For high-cost tickets, purchasing ticket insurance can help protect you if the event is cancelled or rescheduled. Ensure the insurance terms are clear and from a legitimate provider.
- 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, before purchase, the location of the seats represented by the tickets, either orally or by reference to a seating chart. If the tickets aren’t available for immediate access to the purchaser, disclose when the tickets will ship or be available for pick up.
- Use payment methods that come with protection. Always use a credit card, so you have some recourse if the tickets aren’t as promised. Debit cards, wire transfers, 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, as some ads will be ticket scams, especially if the prices are low.
- If you’re unsure, verify your tickets. Pay a visit to the arena where the event will be held. Present your ticket to “Will Call” (customer service), and they can verify if your ticket is legitimate and show you how to tell if it is fake.
Wes Lafortune from the BBB Serving Alberta and East Kootenay said during the summer months, the organization receives reports about ticket scams, especially with big concerts and events. “Of course, this year, it’s a big World Cup.”
Lafortune explained what tends to happen is fake websites pop up. “I’ve just read about a couple that are fake FIFA World Cup ticket sites right now, so they’ll spoof or mimic a legitimate website with a web address. It’s just a little bit off and a little bit different. They defraud people by getting their credit card information or other information.”
According to Lafortune, the important thing to look for with websites is the “https” protocol, and the “s” being secure. “You should look for that. That will go a long way to protect you from that kind of fraud.”
There’s a lot of fly-by-night ticket vendors, so use reputable ones, Lafortune pointed out.
By using a credit card to pay for tickets, and if it’s not a legitimate site or you’ve been defrauded, you can dispute that transaction.
“That gives you some protection. The other thing you can do is pre-register with legitimate ticket sellers. They’ll send you advanced information. That’s also a good way to make sure you’re getting legitimate, reputable information from the ticket vendors,” added Lafortune.
Victims of fraud can report scammers to the police, Lafortune said. “We always encourage people to report fraud because it’s important they know about what’s going on in the community.”
Lafortune shared scams in Canada are more than a $700 million a year business.
“Only about five per cent of people report being scammed, so it’s probably even a much larger number than that. That’s why it’s important to report it, so the authorities have that information,” Lafortune added. “You can also report scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. They track all these scams.”
By reporting scams to the BBB and Scam Tracker, you can also obtain information about how to prevent being scammed.
“And not become a victim,” noted Lafortune.
