Fraud Alert: Online Ticket Dummy Sites
Fans, we’ve heard from some of your fellow fans about a possible online ticket fraud and have come up with a recommended way to fight back.
Don't get ripped off with inflated fees or zombie tickets.
Apparently, multiple "dummy" sites are being set up to sell the same ticket, but are adding fees or, even worse, selling tickets that no longer are valid. The sites don't disclose that they're actually just a repackaged version of some other ticket-selling site. We think what's going on here is an attempt to fill up your search results with lots of different sites all run by the same operation.
This is what you should do: If you think you've come across one of the dummy sites or think you've been ripped off, please post an alert on the Sports Fans Coalition Facebook page for your fellow fans by using #FakeTickets.
Fans, if this looks like a really widespread problem, we'll take it to the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Dept. of Justice, and/or state Attorneys General on fans' behalf.
The next time you are looking for tickets, do a couple different searches on established ticket sites that guarantee the underlying ticket -- Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid -- and maybe do another search on the team's site. Once you get a sense for the price range, then do a Google or Bing search if you want so see what else is out there. It's more time consuming but it will make you a better consumer than if you just rely on a single search of the Internet generally.
Protect yourself when purchasing tickets online.
Let us know if you think you’ve been ripped off by online ticket fraud by posting an alert on our FB page using #FakeTickets. As we identify more fraudulent online ticket sites we can combat online ticket fraud and fewer people will be ripped off.
Join us and other Fans making noise about fake online ticket sellers defrauding Sports Fan out of their money.