Scam Artists Eager To Intercept Super Bowl Ticket Money
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Super Bowl tickets are selling for thousands of dollars, and experts from the Federal Trade Commission warn that when this kind of money is involved, scam artists are sure to follow. NY1's Consumer Watch reporter Asa Aarons filed the following report. Super Bowl fever is sweeping New York, and many Giants fans are willing to do or spend practically anything to get a ticket to the big game. Experts at the Federal Trade Commission warns that this excitement could lead to impulse buying, and at that point scam artists are waiting to pounce.
"Fraudsters are opportunistic," says FTC official Len Gordon. "Today, everybody's talking about the Giants. Now everyone would love to go to Indianapolis to watch the Super Bowl, but those tickets are scarce and very expensive, so there are fraudsters trying to convince people that they've got a great deal."
Fantastic tickets can cost $2,500 or even $15,000. The National Football League, StubHub and other companies have real but expensive tickets available.
Those who get tickets through ads posted on CraigsList by lesser-known entities could avoid payments in cash.
"Whichever place you go to buy your tickets, use your credit card. You have a chance then to get your money back if it's counterfeit or there's no tickets to be had," said Gordon.
Most importantly, never wire transfer money to anyone.
Aside from sorting through the online classifieds, there are other ways to get tickets.
"Go to NFL.com, they have buttons there you can push to find out about the availability of tickets with Ticketmaster, where people who actually have tickets are reselling them. And the NFL and Ticketmaster stand behind those tickets and guarantee that they are legitimate," said Gordon.
To find out more about ticket scams, visit ftc.gov.