Whether you’re rallying behind your football team in the playoffs, rooting for your alma mater’s basketball squad or your favorite band is on tour, scoring tickets to popular events can be a true challenge.
The hunt for tickets is fierce, and unfortunately, it’s not just the competition you need to worry about — it’s the scams. In fact, Better Business Bureau has fielded many reports on BBB Scam Tracker from sports and music enthusiasts who were sidelined with fake tickets. With more venues switching to digital tickets, the risk of duplicates and fraudulent sales has grown, making it even trickier to ensure your spot at a big game or concert.
To combat this, your BBB recommends taking steps to ensure you’re searching for and purchasing tickets from trustworthy sources. BBB and the National Association of Ticket Brokers have teamed up to raise awareness and educate fans about the smartest ways to buy tickets on the secondary resale market.
Here’s what to consider when seeking tickets for a game, concert or any other event:
Purchase directly from the venue whenever possible. Many official ticket sales agents now offer secondary sales options, as well.
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.
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. Association members offer a 200% purchase guarantee on tickets. Look up the seller on VerifiedTicketSource.com to confirm you are buying from an association-member resale company.
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 that is similar to a well-known company. Carefully type in the authentic website you want to visit to help avoid clicking on an impostor site.
Know the refund policy and delivery details. You should only purchase tickets from a ticket reseller that provides clear details about the terms of the transaction. Those details should be shared before the purchase is made and should include information such as the company’s refund policy, the location of the seats represented by the tickets, how the tickets will be delivered and when the tickets will be available for pickup or download.
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 transfers or cash transactions are risky. If the tickets are fraudulent, you most likely 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. Carefully check out any opportunities you’re considering and use good judgment. Consider a low price for a very high-in-demand event to be a big red flag.
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 can show you how to tell if it is fake.
Gary Adler, executive director and counsel for the National Association of Ticket Brokers, offers some additional advice. He recommends people download their tickets to a digital wallet before the event. With large crowds outside the stadium or venue, cellphone service may be spotty, making it harder to access your ticket.
Like scammers found a way into the paper ticket arena, Adler said they will do what they can to get into the digital ticket game. He also shares the following thoughts:
“When it is worthwhile, there will be people who try to do that, which is why I go back, whether you are dealing with digital or any ticket, to make sure you buy from someone you will have some recourse with. The members of our association are professional resellers. They are in the business of doing things right.
“Think about it — you are not going to be a professional reseller if you do not deliver what you promise or take care of customers. If in the event there is some issue, if you have bought from a reputable reseller member of our association, you will have some recourse. Always go back to making sure you do your homework and make sure you know who you are buying from.”
SHRED DAY
A proactive step toward protecting your identity is to safely shred unneeded documents and/or hard drives that contain personally identifiable information and banking information. You can do this for free at BBB’s next Shred Day.
The bi-annual event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 2111 W. Shepherd Road in Chattanooga. (Exit 1A/Airport off Highway 153).
In addition to bringing paper documents and hard drives for destruction, electronics can also be brought for recycling and outdated or unneeded prescription drugs can be dropped off for safe disposal.
Please limit documents to three large trash bags per person and limit hard drives to four per person. For more information, please visit bbb.org/Chattanooga or call your BBB at 423-266-6144.
Thank you to our event partners: Resource 1 Tier 3 Data Security, Hamilton County Coalition, River City Shredding, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Cumulus Media Chattanooga, First Horizon Bank and Coca-Cola Bottling Co.
Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau in Chattanooga.