Concert Ticket Scams: What You Need to Know
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People on social media have started warning their friends about the possibility of a scammer using an upcoming concert as a way to steal money from people. If you’re a concertgoer who loves seeing bands perform live, you need to be aware of this insidious new scheme.
It should go without saying, but you need to be careful before you send anyone money over the internet. You never know who you’re dealing with behind the screen. Here are some tips to help you the next time you’re looking to buy concert tickets!
Don’t ever buy concert tickets from a secondhand seller online. If you can’t verify that the person selling you the tickets actually has them, then you shouldn’t give them any money. The only time you should be buying tickets from another person is if that person is a trusted friend who wants to sell you tickets because they can’t use them.
It’s just too easy for a scammer to sell you fake tickets online or in person. When you can’t verify someone’s identity and you can’t hold them accountable, the odds are good that they’re going to just rip you off.
Another red flag for a scammer is that they tend to offer tickets at a price that is too low to be real. If tickets for a show are going for around $400 and you see a listing for $200 tickets, that should tip you off right away that something is wrong. Ask yourself why someone would choose to lose money on a concert ticket like that.
The answer is usually that they don’t plan to lose money at all. Instead, they’re selling you nothing at all: you’re giving them money and they’re going to disappear into the ether like they never existed, laughing the whole time.
Never click on a link in a text or email to buy tickets from a genuine-looking site. When you’re shopping, check the URL to make sure it looks legit. If you’re on a site with a bizarre-looking address, no matter how real the webpage looks, you’re being scammed.
These “false front” sites are actually scams that you can reach by following links in fishy emails or texts. When you input your credit card information, you’re just handing criminals access so they can steal it and run up a huge bill that you’ll be on the hook for.
