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  Geebo 9:00 am on January 18, 2024 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Detroit Lions, Facebook ( 178 ), football ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), tickets, venmo ( 28 )   

  Historic playoff win brings out ticket scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This past weekend, The Detroit Lions won their first playoff game in 32 years. It probably took about 32 seconds after the game was over before scammers were promising tickets to the next Lions game. The game is being played in Detroit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with ticket prices starting at $500. To say tickets are in high demand would be an understatement.

  A Detroit area man fell victim to a ticket scam in his quest for playoff seats. He responded to a post on Facebook where a woman was supposedly selling two tickets to this Sunday’s game. After the man and the seller agreed on a price, the man paid the seller through Venmo. Then the seller asked the man for more money to transfer the tickets into his name. It was at this point the man realized he’d been scammed. It’s unknown how much the man paid the scammer, but it’s safe to assume it was probably hundreds of dollars, if not at least a thousand dollars.

  To avoid being scammed when buying tickets to the NFL Playoffs, please consider the following. Buy tickets directly from the official NFL website, authorized ticket vendors, or the official website of the hosting venue. If purchasing from a secondary market, only use well-known and reputable ticket platforms.

  If the ticket prices seem too low compared to the average market value, be cautious. Scammers often use enticing prices to lure buyers. Use secure payment methods when purchasing tickets. Credit cards offer more protection than other payment options. Avoid buying tickets from unsolicited emails, social media messages, or random sellers. Stick to well-established channels for ticket purchases. Lastly, if something feels off or too good to be true, trust your instincts and reconsider the purchase.

  These tips aren’t just applicable to the Lions game on Sunday. They can also be applied to any sporting or entertainment event where tickets are in high demand.

  By following these tips, you can reduce the risk of falling victim to ticket scams and ensure a secure and enjoyable experience.

   

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  Geebo 9:00 am on February 6, 2023 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: counterfeit goods ( 12 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), Sports ( 4 ), sports betting, Super Bowl ( 6 ), tickets   

  Super Bowl scams for 2023 

  

  By Greg Collier

  Whether you’ll be going to the big game in Phoenix this year, or watching from home with friends and family, there are a number of scams surrounding this Sunday’s Super Bowl to look out for.

  If you’re looking for Super Bowl or NFL merchandise, be wary of bootlegs. We’re not just talking about that one stand that shows up in an abandoned parking lot every year, either. The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers that many online scammers will be trying to get consumers to buy counterfeit apparel. While others just won’t ship anything at all. Items like football jerseys should be inspected before purchase due to their price. If you’re looking for a Jersey for Sunday, you might be better off picking one up at a brick and mortar store if you want it to last.

  With online sports betting seeing a resurgence in recent years, some may be thinking about putting some money down on the game. However, there is no end to the number of websites that will try to take your money in some pretty crooked ways. Once again, the BBB is offering advice about being taken advantage of by shady websites or apps. One of the most common scams is when a sports betting platform won’t let you cash out. In many instances, the scam sites will tell you that you need to pay more money to get your winnings.

  Many state gambling commissions have a list of approved sports betting sites listed on their websites. Always avoid any pop up ads or spam from betting sites, as it’s pretty good odds they’re trying to swindle you. And as always, never bet more money than you can afford to lose.

  Lastly, if you have plans to make it to Phoenix, but still need tickets, be careful of buying counterfeit tickets. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is reminding Eagle’s fans to be careful who they buy tickets from. Super Bowl tickets are all electronic, but still can be faked. Stick to authorized ticket vendors and never pay for tickets using gift cards, money orders, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Any vendor that asks for payment in those forms will probably not send you any tickets. And if they do, those tickets will be fraudulent.

  No one wants to show up to this once-in-a-lifetime event only to be turned away at the gate.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on December 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: arrest warrant ( 26 ), concert tickets ( 3 ), jury duty scam ( 30 ), puppy scam ( 37 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), Taylor Swift ( 3 ), tickets, US Attorney's Office, Zelle ( 66 )   

  Scam Round Up: Taylor Swift ticket scam and more 

  

  By Greg Collier

  This week in the Round Up, we’re going over some familiar scams with a slight twist to each of them.

  ***

  As we keep saying, the most common scam out there is probably the arrest warrant scam. Not a day goes by where we don’t see this scam in the headlines from somewhere in the country. Typically, scammers will pose as your local police department when they call a victim. The scammers will then demand money over an arrest warrant that doesn’t actually exist. More often than not, the scammers will tell the victim they’ve missed jury duty. In many jurisdictions, missing jury duty is no longer an arrestable offense, although you can be fined. However, you would receive a notice in the mail and not an officer calling you on the phone.

  Anyway, some scammers have turned up the pressure on their victims by claiming to be from a much higher law enforcement office than your local police department. Some scammers are claiming to be calling from the US Attorney’s Office, demanding their victims pay ‘legal fees’. The caller ID On these calls is spoofed to make it appear like the calls are coming from the US Attorney’s Office.

  Always keep in mind, no law enforcement office will ever call you demanding money. That goes for the smallest police departments in the most rural towns, up to and including the higher echelons of law enforcement like the FBI.

  ***

  There’s actually some good news on the puppy scam front. According to a recent report from the Better Business Bureau, puppy scams are actually on the decline. We’re specifically talking about the scam where victims pay for a puppy they find online, only to find out the puppy doesn’t exist. In many instances of this scam, once the scammer receives the initial payment, they’ll try to get more money from the victim by asking for more money for things like delivery insurance or special transport crates.

  And that’s where the bad news comes in. The reason puppy scams are on the decline is that scammers are taking more money from victims than before.

  If you’re in the market for a puppy, do not send any money to anyone without seeing the puppy in person first. Try to stick to local breeders or your local shelter.

  ***

  There’s no bigger star in today’s music industry than Taylor Swift. Tickets for her latest concert tour went on sale back in November, and quickly sold out. If you’re still looking to snag some tickets to this premium event, be careful where you try to get them from.

  A New Jersey woman thought she was buying tickets from another member of a Facebook group she belonged to. The woman sent $1500 through Zelle, for the tickets. She never received the tickets, and the scammer kept asking her for more money. If scammers can fool someone once, they’ll often try to get more money out of their victims.

  If you’re trying to buy tickets to any event that is in high demand, stick to reputable retailers. Also, never send money through Zelle to someone you don’t know personally.

   
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  Geebo 9:00 am on November 23, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: counterfeit goods ( 12 ), football ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), tickets   

  ‘Tis the season for ticket scams 

  

  By Greg Collier

  The rivalry between Ohio State University and the University of Michigan is probably the most storied and heated rivalry in college football. Both teams are set to play each other this weekend in Columbus. Even at this late hour, tickets are still in high demand. That’s why the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio is warning sports fans about ticket scams.

  One of the most prevalent ticket scams are counterfeit tickets. They look and feel like the real thing because they were at one point. Scammers will use stolen credit card information to buy tickets to in-demand events. Once the credit card holder finds out and cancels the charge, it’s too late because the scammer already has a physical ticket.

  At this point, the scammer sells the canceled ticket to an unsuspecting fan. Once the fan shows up to the arena, they’re denied entrance because their ticket has been flagged as being fraudulent. So, not only is the fan out of the money they paid for the ticket, but also traveling and parking expenses too. In some cases, that can add up to thousands of dollars.

  Probably the most common ticket scams is the one where the tickets don’t even exist. Scammers will put up ads online claiming they have tickets and will then ask to be paid through apps like Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App. Once someone pays what the scammer is asking, the scammer will disappear with their money as these app transactions are instant, and the scammers can block you after you pay.

  This doesn’t just apply to sports, either. Any show or event that issues tickets can have the same problems with scammers. To better protect yourself, buy tickets only from authorized sellers and resellers. Use a credit card when possible for buying tickets. Credit cards give you extra protection when making purchases like this.

  Lastly, do not post pictures of your tickets on social media once you get them. This makes it easy for counterfeiters to copy the bar code from your tickets and produce copies they can sell.

   
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  Geebo 9:26 am on February 10, 2022 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: football ( 9 ), NFL ( 10 ), scalpers ( 3 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), Super Bowl ( 6 ), tickets   

  The Super Bowl ticket scam returns 

  

  By Greg Collier

  If you have tickets to this weekend’s big game in Los Angeles, congratulations. We are officially jealous. If you’re still trying to get tickets at the 11th hour, we wish you the best of luck. However, in either case, we hope you have legitimate tickets since sporting events are big targets for ticket scammers and the Super Bowl is the biggest of these targets.

  According to Los Angeles area news reports, the average price for Super Bowl tickets are $9000 with the nosebleed seats going for around $5000. If you see tickets being listed online for just hundreds of dollars, the odds are pretty good the tickets are fake.

  Scammers get these tickets by buying legitimate tickets with stolen credit cards. Once the credit card is reported stolen, the tickets are cancelled. If someone were to buy these stolen tickets, they’d be turned away at the stadium entrance for having a counterfeit ticket. Since most people attending the game will be traveling from other parts of the country, this could lead to a massive disappointment for some unfortunate football fans prior to kickoff. Even in-person scalpers on game day could be selling you an armful of fake tickets, and you’ll have absolutely no recourse with them.

  Although you’ll still pay a premium price, your best bet to get legitimate tickets is to buy them through licensed resellers. You should also use a credit card when purchasing tickets, since they’ll provide the most protection if something goes wrong with the purchase. And if you already have tickets, don’t post pictures of them to social media. Scammers can use the digital code on the tickets to virtually steal your tickets.

  This just doesn’t apply only to the Super Bowl. Not only do these scams happen at other large sporting events, but they can happen at smaller events too like your local MLB, NFL, NHL, or NBA games. The same goes for entertainment events like concerts and pro wrestling.

  While an unbelievable deal on tickets might be enticing, they could lead you into an expensive and heartbreaking scam.

   
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  Geebo 8:24 am on September 18, 2020 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: craigslist ( 129 ), football ( 9 ), NFL ( 10 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), tickets   

  New football season means ticket scams 

  

  Whether you agree with the situation or not, the NFL has obviously decided to go ahead with the 2020 season. The league is enforcing social distancing guidelines during their games and have limited seating inside all the football stadiums around the country. For example, The Cleveland Browns seating capacity was limited to just 6,000 for this past Sunday’s game. The stadium the Browns play in has the capacity to hold more than ten times that many fans.

  With the limited amount of tickets being issued, fans are paying even more than a premium than usual to see their favorite team. Unfortunately, this has not put a stop to the number of scammers who are selling fake tickets online.

  Recently, a man from Cleveland found a pair of tickets to the Browns’ game on Craigslist. The tickets were being listed as being on sale for $65 each. Once the man sent money to the seller through PayPal, the seller disappeared. While this man may have only been out $130 other ticket scams have cost football fans thousands of dollars.

  In many cases, scammers will even provide legitimate looking physical tickets to their victims. That’s because at one time the tickets were legitimate. Scammers will sometimes buy tickets with stolen credit cards. Once the cards are reported stolen and the purchase is canceled, scammers will send the canceled tickets as real. The victim won’t find out the tickets are fake until they’re turned away at the gate by stadium security.

  To be fair, most dedicated sports fans have bought tickets from a scalper at some point in their life and were able to see the game. However, those scalpers are being replaced by scammers who are simply looking to take your money instead of selling you overpriced tickets. If you’re really looking to attend a game, buy only from the team or authorized dealers.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 30, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Scams ( 1,354 ), tickets   

  Protect yourself against fake tickets 

  

  With Labor Day weekend coming up and the start of the NFL season following, it’s important to keep your guard up when buying tickets for a big event. Whether it’s a concert or tickets for opening day, there will be a number of scalpers out there that will be looking to take advantage of the demand for these events. Often the larger events sell out very quickly leaving many to search for tickets among the secondary market. Unfortunately, the secondary market is rife with traps and pitfalls that you should be aware of.

  When doing a web search for the event you’re wishing to attend, don’t assume the first listing is a legitimate one as search engines can be rigged by scammers to show them as a top listing. Try to stick to authorized resellers as there are many sellers out there armed with counterfeit tickets that will leave you turned away at the door the day of the event. However, if you insist on buying tickets from an unauthorized seller, ask them to meet you at a local police station to make the exchange. While not a perfect solution, it can go a long way in weeding out potential scammers.

  [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEBlqx4A3cE%5D

  We’d also like to remind you to not post pictures of your tickets on social media once you get them. This makes it very easy for counterfeiters to copy the bar code from your tickets and produce copies they can sell. Once again, this could leave you outside the event looking in if someone with a copy of your tickets gets to the event before you.

  While prices for these events may be exorbitant these days, we recommend buying tickets from either the event box office, licensed retailers, or authorized resellers only. This way you can assure yourself that you and your family won’t be turned away from the gate on the day of the event.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on July 17, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: brushing scam ( 22 ), parking lot scam, phone scam ( 46 ), Prime Day ( 8 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), theme parks, tickets   

  This scam takes advantage of Prime Day purchases! 

  

  As we mentioned yesterday, Amazon just had its annual Prime Day sale. If you decided to take advantage of the deals to be had online you should be aware of a particular scam that looks to take advantage of all the orders made on Prime Day. It’s called brushing and some retailers will send you a product of their’s unsolicited and at no charge to you. They’re looking for favorable online reviews and even if sent to you free of charge, the vendor can consider you a ‘verified purchase’ on Amazon. The main problem with brushing scams is that someone may have purchased these items on yours on someone else’s stolen account.

  In other scam news, reports are coming out of Northern California about a parking lot scam designed to pressure you into giving a stranger money. Several residents have complained about a scam where someone walks behind your car in a parking lot as you try to pull out. The scammer will drop their phone then act like it’s broken, or more than likely they’ll have dropped an already broken phone. They’ll then try to claim it was your fault and try to get you to give them money for their phone’s insurance deductible. If this scam happens to you, it’s recommended that you call the police.

  While this next scam happens all year round with places like Disney World, it picks up in the summer months due to other regional theme parks being open for the season. If you see a post on social media promising you free tickets to a theme park or other attraction it is more than likely a scam. This happened recently in the Sandusky, Ohio area where the popular Cedar Point theme park is. This scam is intended to get either your personal or financial information which the scammers will say is necessary in order to get the tickets. They could even ask for a processing fee. In the end, the scammers end up with your information and possibly your money and you’re left with nothing.

   
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  Geebo 8:00 am on April 8, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: car wash, Colorado Rockies, counterfeit money ( 9 ), craigslist ( 129 ), Human trafficking ( 97 ), OfferUp ( 23 ), safe zones ( 4 ), tickets, UK ( 10 )   

  Fake cash in a safe zone, phony opening day tickets, and an app to report human trafficking 

  

  When dealing with classifieds transactions, we often recommend using safe zones at local police stations. While safe zones go a long way in helping to ensure your safety, you can still be ripped off if you’re not careful. In Pennsylvania, a pair of suspects were said to have paid $500 in ‘Motion Picture Money’ for a PlayStation 4 at a local police station’s safe zone during an OfferUp transaction. While police were able to apprehend the suspects quite easily, this does show that you should be on your guard at all times even when using specially designated safe zones.

  Meanwhile, in Colorado, a couple found themselves out of $300 after trying to purchase opening day tickets for the Colorado Rockies. They had set up a ticket purchase through craigslist and had met the seller in the parking lot of Coors Field on opening day. The couple even took a picture of the man selling the tickets and his driver license in hopes that this would dissuade the man from selling them fake tickets. Unfortunately, it didn’t as the couple were turned away from the gate for the tickets being invalid. The tickets themselves appeared to be legitimate but what scammers do in many cases is they buy the tickets using stolen credit cards. Once the cards are reported stolen the tickets are canceled but the scammer already has physical tickets that were valid at one time. This particular scammer reportedly even taunted his victims after they tried to contact the seller over the phony tickets.

  Lastly, in the UK, an app has been developed to report possible human trafficking at car washes. The app was developed by an anti-slavery arm of the Church of England and shows users a checklist of signs of human trafficking at hands only car washes. A number of the victims at UK car washes turn out to be people displaced by immigration issues, mental health issues, or being in abusive situations. The app refers any possible sightings of trafficking to the UK’s National Crime Agency who decide if it warrants an investigation. While apps like this have been attempted in the US many don’t show the user how to recognize the signs of trafficking. An app like this designed by the FBI and suggested to the industries where human trafficking mostly takes place could be a boon in the fight against all forms of human trafficking. In the meantime, if you or someone you know could be caught up in trafficking you can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888 or at their website.

   
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  Geebo 10:01 am on February 5, 2019 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: counterfeit money ( 9 ), craigslist ( 129 ), Facebook Marketplace ( 62 ), grants ( 14 ), LetGo ( 10 ), OfferUp ( 23 ), robbery ( 11 ), Scams ( 1,354 ), tickets   

  Just another day of classifieds crime 

  

  One might think that after over 20 years of having online classified ads being so prevalent online that most people would become more aware of the pitfalls that have become inherent when using some of the less reputable sites and apps. Here are some of the stories that have happened just over the past 24 hours.

  While not technically a classified site even though it does have Facebook Marketplace, a tired old scam has targeted Facebook messenger uses. It’s the grant scam which promises users large government grants to do with what they wish. The only catch is that you have to pay a fee, usually of at least several hundred dollars, in order to process the grant. Of course, you’re expected to wire the money to whoever is supposedly managing the grants. To be clear, the government does not use Facebook Messenger to offer grants and they never offer grants unsolicited. Also, you should always be suspicious of any transaction that requires you to wire money as once the money is wired it’s virtually untraceable once it’s gone.

  In Youngstown, Ohio, there has been a rash of robberies through the marketplace app LetGo. In these robberies, the buyers are posing as men in their 30s and 40s but when the seller shows up to the meeting place they’re approached by teens who then rob them. The article we linked to does have some good safety tips but leaves out the most important one. Don’t just meet someone during the day in a well-lit and well-traveled area as even there robberies and worse have been committed. Instead, insist on meeting at a local police station. This one simple step goes a long way in discouraging scammers and thieves from trying to take advantage of you.

  In the Kansas City area, one man was swindled out of close to $400 after buying tickets from a supposed seller off of craigslist. The scammer had official looking documentation that carried the Ticketmaster branding, the only problem with that is the arena where the concert was being held doesn’t use Ticketmaster to distribute their tickets. The tickets never appeared and the would-be buyer was out of $400 before buying more legitimate tickets from a reputable dealer. The victim, in this case, was an IT specialist who admits that he should have known better showing that it’s people of all stripes and backgrounds that can fall for a craigslist scam.

  For our next story, we stay in Ohio, Hilliard to be precise where police have discovered a counterfeiting operation that was using OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace transactions to allegedly try to launder the money. In this instance, the phony bills were not theatrical money as has been the more popular counterfeit scam lately. Instead, these bills were manufactured and ranged in denominations from the humble $1 bill to the much more respectable $100 bill. Again, the article we linked to has several tips to prevent yourself from being ripped off by counterfeiters even claiming that the marker test isn’t always reliable as some fake bills will show as genuine when the special anti-counterfeit marker is used. In this case, the bills should have been easy to detect as they had markings on them in one of the Chinese languages.

  While not every marketplace platform is perfect, there are very few that go the extra mile in trying to protect its users. For example, Geebo reviews every ad in order to try to weed out the ads that are obvious scams and setups. Maybe if our competitors were more concerned about user safety they wouldn’t keep cropping up in the daily headlines for all the wrong reasons.