Better Business Bureau warns of ticket scams ahead of Alabama vs. Georgia game

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Now that college football season is in full swing, the Better Business Bureau in Birmingham said scammers have already taken advantage of hundreds of people who bought tickets to go to a game online.

Most college and professional teams have converted to online, electronic ticketing, so BBB President and CEO Carl Bate said you need to be careful if you’re buying anything outside of the actual team’s ticket offerings.

“You wanna make sure you’re dealing with a legitimate ticket broker,” Bates said. “The people at Ticketmaster, Stub Hub, Seat Geek, they’re legitimate ticket brokers. Also, you need to be careful if they’re wanting anything but a credit card, that’s a tip-off that it very likely could be a scam.”

Here are some tips from the BBB when it comes to buying college football tickets online:

• Buy from venue
• Consider the source: Broker vs. Scalper
• Check sellers on BBB.org or the National Association of Ticket Brokers
• Know refund policy
• Always use a credit card
• Be wary of online ads

Bates said social media is almost 100% of the problem. He said ticket brokers have a reputation for protecting and licensing, plus you pay with a credit card so you have recourse.

“Anyone who wants you to use Venmo or Cash Ap, even a debit card is asking for trouble and a lot of times they delete their online presence immediately after they receive payment,” Bates said. “They completely delete that, so you have no recourse and no ticket.”

Bates said you can verify the validity of a ticket at will call of the box office of the event you are attending. If you believe you’ve been scammed, Bates said to call your local police department and report it at BBB.org.

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