Today, people can find tickets and purchase them with online marketplaces, ticket vendors, and resellers in various ways, thanks to the internet. However, people searching for tickets to a concert, performance, music festival, or sporting event are frequent targets of scammers. This is especially true when tickets are in high demand. Scammers may offer you fake tickets meaning you cannot gain entrance to the event. Or, they may take your money and leave you with nothing. Fraudsters build fake online ticketing sites that give you the option to get tickets to an event that’s already sold out or hasn't officially gone on sale yet.
Scammers frequently ask for payment via bank transfer, which is a red flag that things aren't quite right. Many of these scams and frauds are not always easy to spot. On the bright side, there are several actions you can do to guard yourself against online ticketing fraud and determine whether the seller is legitimate.
Purchasing tickets a month or more before an event lowers the risk of fraud, with fraud rates rising as the event approaches. The reason is owing to the short window of opportunity for reselling stolen tickets. Scammers require time to sell the tickets to a third party. Thus, they may be hesitant to buy them on the day of the event. Another factor is the ticket demand decreases on the event day, as many people who wish to attend the event plan ahead at least one day.
Fraudsters go after more expensive items to make more money while reselling them. The report looks at how much fraud links to prices for e-tickets as a first step in researching fraud patterns in digital ticket sales.
Increasing pricing closely connects with higher scams in digital tickets. The percentage of fraud in more expensive tickets is higher. This includes both fraud refunds and canceling orders due to fraud. You can learn more about this on this page.
If the site promises tickets to a concert or athletic event that you already know is sold out, it's a scam. Contact the organizer, venue, or promoter to check the date and place where the tickets will be available. Often, tickets will be available through official sources, especially for very large events.
Check to see if the company has an actual location and phone number. Also, check out the website's reviews to see if anyone else has had a poor experience with it. Check the terms and ensure the website's payment page has a padlock symbol and the address bar begins with “https”.
Some music festival tickets are solely available to specific individuals and cannot be resold. Certain online ticketing websites provide a legitimate marketplace for reselling event tickets. However, you must be careful as purchasing tickets on these sites may cost more than the actual price of the ticket. Buying tickets on social media or classified advertisements should be avoided at all costs.
Only purchase tickets from websites having secure payment options. Check that the web URL begins with 'https' and that the padlock image appears at the beginning of the address.
If you're buying tickets for a substantial amount of money, utilize your credit or debit card. This will make it easier to get a refund if something goes wrong. Never purchase a ticket using money transfers because you won't be able to refund or track it if something goes wrong.
Always buy tickets from a seller or reseller who offers clear information about the transaction's terms. The sellers must disclose the seating locations in the tickets to the purchaser before purchase. Either verbally or by referring to a seating chart. If tickets are not immediately sent to you, check when the tickets will be sent or when to pick them up.
