The Better Business Bureau is warning fans to beware of potential scams by fake ticket sellers. Fake ticket scammers have been on the prowl for many years, but more so around this time than ever. Many sports fans want to buy tickets the fastest and easiest way possible, and that can include buying them through the secondary market.
The BBB's Chris Thetford says fans should be on the look out for scams when buying tickets from these sources.
“People have problems when they either try to buy tickets on the sidewalk of a venue, or if they are buying tickets online at classified online websites, or through online auction or through online bulletin boards,” Thetford said. That's especially true now that the St. Louis Cardinals have qualified for the baseball playoffs. While tickets are being sold at Busch Stadium and on StubHub, they are also being sold in front of Busch stadium by fake ticket sellers.
“You need to make sure that the barcode on the ticket that they sold you is actually legitimate and works and the way that we recommend that people do that is to have the person go with you to the gate and to tell them I will pay you for the ticket but we need to make sure that the barcode reader is going to read it to let me in,” Thetford said.
Thetford also warns fans to be careful with online classified websites, auctions and bulletin boards.
The BBB receives hundreds of fraudulent ticket complaints nationwide each year, according to a press release. They include fake tickets to an English Premier League soccer match at Busch Stadium earlier this year, and copied tickets to see Bruno Mars in concert at the Scottrade Center.
BBB officials say the secondary market for tickets is a 10 billion dollar industry, according to a press release. More information about how to avoid ticket scams is available at www.bbb.org.