Iron Bowl ticket scammers are lurking to separate fans from cash

There’s the old saying that a fool and his money are soon parted, and that likely will be tested and validated as the Iron Bowl clash between the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 6 Auburn Tigers nears on Saturday afternoon.

That’s why the Better Business Bureau serving central Georgia — to include the Columbus area, which has its fair share of proud Tide and Tigers fans — has issued an alert warning college football fans to beware of possible ticket scams leading up to the high-stakes Top 10 battle in Auburn, Ala.

“Enthusiasm and hype for your favorite team is exactly what scammers are looking for (and) fan passion often gets in the way of being a smart consumer,” said Kelvin Collins, president and chief executive officer of the BBB that covers the Fall Line Corridor from Georgia communities from Columbus to Macon to Augusta.

In fact, a quick check Wednesday of the resale site StubHub found that there is a decent supply of tickets available for the game, albeit starting at $239 apiece and surging higher from there, with some prime seats topping $1,000, and a cluster of club tickets priced at $3,500 each.

The bottom-line takeaway: There is plenty of money to be made by those peddling tickets via legitimate websites, but also by the fraudsters who will somehow find a way to take a passionate fan for a major chunk of their cash without delivering the goods.

And, of course, that goes for any major sporting event in which the stakes are high and there are more people wanting to get into a stadium or arena than seating allows. That will certainly be the case again a week from Saturday when the winner of the Auburn-Alabama game takes on the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs for the Southeastern Conference Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Again, exercise extreme caution.

That warning aside, here are some tips from the BBB to help fans navigate the ticket process and make certain that what they purchase will actually get them into the game venue for the exciting action:

▪ Check out the seller/broker — Look them up on bbb.org to learn what other customers have experienced. Check to see if they are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers. NATB members offer a 200 percent purchase guarantee on tickets. Look up the seller on the association’s site to confirm you are buying from an NATB-member resale company.

▪ Consider your source — Know the difference between a professional ticket broker (a legitimate and accredited reseller), a ticket scalper (an unregulated and unlicensed ticket seller), and a scammer selling fraudulent tickets.

▪ Ask to see a scan of the ticket — If you’re purchasing a ticket online or in person, be sure to ask to see the ticket (or a scan of the ticket) before letting money exchange hands. Check the date, venue and look for a bar code. If anything looks out of the ordinary, chances are the ticket is fake.

▪ Buy only from trusted vendors — Buy online only from vendors you know and trust. Look for secure web addresses (https) to indicate a secure purchasing system. Don’t click through from emails or online ads. A common scam trick is to create a web address that is similar to a well-known company.

▪ Know the refund policy — You should only purchase tickets from a ticket reseller that provides clear details about the terms of the transaction. Sellers should disclose to the purchaser — prior to purchase — the location of the seats represented by the tickets, either orally or by reference to a seating chart. If the tickets are not available for immediate access to the purchaser, they should disclose when the tickets will ship or be available for pick up.

▪ Always pay with a credit card — Always use a credit card so you have some recourse if the tickets are not as promised. Debit cards, wire transfer, prepaid cards, or cash transactions are risky. If the tickets are fraudulent, you won’t be able to get your money back.

▪ Be wary of advertisements — When you search the web for online tickets, advertisements for cheap tickets will often appear. Use good judgment. Some of these ads are going to be scams, especially if the prices are low.

▪ If you’re unsure, verify your tickets — Pay a visit to the arena where the event will be held before the event. Present your ticket to “Will Call” (customer service) and they can verify if your ticket is legitimate.

▪ Beware of unlicensed merchandise — Counterfeit tickets and poor quality, unlicensed merchandise are two ways scammers make money. Be wary of pop-up shops and only purchase sports merchandise and gear from accredited and licensed sellers.

▪ Know how to spot fake tickets — Some red flags include typos and grammatical errors on the front or back of tickets; tickets printed on photo paper; blurry print on tickets being offered for sale; identical bar codes on more than one ticket or the same serial number on the back of consecutive tickets.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Iron Bowl ticket scammers are lurking to separate fans from cash."