The Louisiana State Police along with other law enforcement agencies both national and local, are warning against ticket scams pertaining to the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) football games.
Because of the large amount of people who want tickets to these games (college football fans, locals, and fans of the schools involved) compared to the relative scarcity of seats available, many scammers are going to be trying to take advantage of the situation.
Some steps you can take to avoid being victimized in ticket purchasing scam:
If purchasing the ticket online, verify the seller’s contact information by making a phone call. This doesn’t rule out that the seller is not a scammer, but makes it less likely as most scammers are reluctant to publicize their contact information.
If purchasing from a ticket reselling company, check the Better Business Bureau. Another easy to use research procedure is to just type the name of the company, the state they are located in, and the word “scam” into Google or any of the other search engines and see what comes up.
Avoid sending money through the mail to a post office box. Most reputable ticket sellers will have a physical address available. Someone providing a physical address doesn’t prove that they are not a scammer, however it does indicate that they may not be one as most scammers prefer to not publicize their contact information.
If purchasing a ticket online you can verify the authenticity of a web site by checking their certificate or through a company like Verisign.
Avoid any online transaction that comes with unusual payment methods (making the check out to someone other than the seller, sending the payment out of the country, etc.).
While following these steps will not guarantee that you will not be scammed, it will decrease the likelihood.
Finally, as in every financial dealing… not just online transactions, remember… if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.