How to spot fake tickets for games, concerts or events

Beware of fake tickets being sold

Before you head to a game this fall, make sure the tickets you’re buying online are legit. 7 On Your Side reporter John Krinjak has the details.

AUSTIN, Texas - It’s September, and for many of us that means just one thing: football is back! But before you head to the game, you want to make sure the tickets you’re buying online are legit.

Recently, a woman in Georgetown reported to the Better Business Bureau that someone was posting tickets on a Facebook group. She said she was scammed out of $250 for a ticket to a football game, that turned out to be fraudulent.

"Buying from an individual is very risky," said Heather Massey of the Better Business Bureau Serving the Heart of Texas. "Specifically, if you are looking at Facebook Marketplace or any type of other marketplace transactions that you're buying from an individual seller, you virtually have no guarantee."

Massey says fake tickets can take many forms, and are sometimes impossible to spot.

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"They can take screenshots and send you some things that look legitimate," said Massey. "You can have physical tickets, you can have the text message, you can have those you even put in your Apple Wallet if you have an iPhone. It’s really hard to detect until you get to the venue and find out your ticket doesn't work."

Even if the seller appears to be someone you know, beware of that as well.

"Scammers are great at impersonating and mimicking people, even opening up fake Facebook accounts under a legitimate friend or family member's name," said Massey. "They start messaging you through instant messenger saying, ‘hey, I got this ticket. Do you want to join us at the game this weekend?’ Take a pause. It might not be that person and their account could have been hacked."

And it’s not just football fans who scammers are looking to exploit. With Austin City Limits and other festivals on the way, music fans should be wary as well.

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"Those last-minute deals that seem too good to be true probably are," said Massey. "We’ve had some major concerts in the past couple of years, and those floor seats are not going to go for $150."

Some scammers are even going on social media and creating fake festivals that look real.

"The name might differ just a little bit. They go ahead and promote this. They're selling phony tickets through different platforms. And before you know it, the event you thought you were going to is completely gone and never existed in the first place," said Massey.

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Bottom line: unless you’re buying a verified resale ticket from a reputable ticket seller like Ticketmaster, Stubhub or SeatGeek, you’re running the risk of getting taken advantage of.

"Legitimate ticket brokers that are members of The National Association of Ticket Brokers will offer a 200% guarantee. So this really helps secure your transaction," said Massey.

And if someone’s selling physical tickets outside a game or concert, there’s an easy way to verify those.

"So if it's someone legitimately trying to sell a last minute ticket to a game, you can actually walk them over to will-call, and have them verify for you," said Massey.

And before you buy, call the venue to see what their ticket policies are. For example, if someone is trying to sell you a paper ticket, and the venue doesn’t even accept them, then you already know it’s fake.