Posted on Wednesday March 16, 2016
You really want to go to an event, Taylor Swift is in town, the Toronto Blue Jays are in the playoffs, but tickets are hard to come by.
You start your search and find a great deal. You and your friends make plans for a big night, but when you show up you find out the truth. Your tickets are fake.
While there are legitimate tickets for sale on various Internet sites by people who can no longer attend, there are many fraudulent tickets out there. It’s one of the easiest scams to fall victim to because it’s a buy now, use later business. And fake tickets are relatively easy to recreate.
Here are a few tips that can keep you from being heartbroken the night of a big event.
- The old adage ‘if it looks too good to be true’ is a saying for a reason. If it’s an amazing deal, question it. Prices should be close in comparison.
- Don’t send any money via the Internet. Always exchange money in person, in a safe location. Ideally, it’s best to meet at the location of the event. That way you can check the ticket’s validity before exchanging money.
- E-tickets are easy to recreate. Many are generated off real tickets and printed off in multiples. Sadly, only the first ones will work at the gate. The rest will be denied access to the venue.
- Never let anyone pressure you into buying the tickets. Scammers will say you need to move fast before you lose out. It’s better to do a little research and save yourself some money in the long run.
- If you do fall victim to a scam, report it to police. Although you may never recover your money or think the time involved in reporting it will be worth it, but it can help police investigations and potentially lead an arrest.
Next week, we’ll discuss Romance Scams and what you can do to protect yourself when entering the online dating world.
