Despite the best efforts of event organisers and incoming government legislation, ticket scammers are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated in their methods.
It feels like everywhere you turn you’re dealing with suspect sellers. A 50-year-old lady from Mumbai has 6 tickets to spare and you should defs just wire her the money and then she’ll email them straight over – sure seems legit.
Here are few ways to help you spot a ticket scam and stop it in its tracks.
1. Seller doesn’t have many mates, or selfies
Setting up a fake social media account with pictures swiped from someone else’s profile takes a scammer just a few minutes, but can end up costing you hundreds of dollars.A fake Facebook or Instagram profile helps the scammer obscure their real identity, so when it turns out the ticket is fake (or never existed) it’s impossible to get your money back.
Some telltale signs of a fake profile include:
• Few friends on Facebook or followers on Instagram
• Just one or two pictures on their profile
• The photos they do have look overly professional (probably taken from a stock photo site)
• Their profile pictures are clearly not the same person
2. Seller won’t show you the ticket
It may sound obvious to some, but one of the most important steps in protecting yourself from scammers is ensuring you get proof the ticket actually exists.An unscrupulous seller may show you fake ticket and after you send them the money they’ve disappeared.
To help ensure a ticket is real:
• Ask for a clear image of the ticket and make sure the name matches the name of the seller you are dealing with
• Treat blurry/ low resolution images with suspicion
3. Seller is asking you to pay in a weird way
If the seller won’t accept a simple bank transfer as means of payment they are likely trying to scam you.Payments via Paypal or an anonymous method like wire transfer (for example Western Union) make it much harder for you to get your money back in the event something goes wrong. Definitely stay away from bitcoin transactions as well.
4. Seller is flogging tickets at a crazy cheap price
Suspiciously cheap tickets to a high-demand event are often scammers using the cheap ticket as bait. If the ticket is below face value for a sold-out event, it’s usually too good to be true. If you still want to take the chance, ask the seller why they are selling the ticket so cheaply.5. Seller seems reaaaaal keen
If the seller begins to make you feel pressured into buying the ticket by threatening to sell it to someone else or saying they don’t have much time to talk, they may be trying to get money from you so they can cut and run. Basically if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn’t.6. Are you the seller? You probs need to be careful too
It’s not just buyers who are getting swindled. Sellers are getting scammed using fake bank transfer screenshots or by sending their tickets to the buyer before confirming payment at all.When selling always get payment transfer confirmation before delivering the ticket. To ensure the transfer confirmation is real make sure it is the transfer receipt rather than the pre-confirmation step and check if the date and time are correct.
Truly the only way to make sure the transfer is legit is to transfer the ticket once you have the money in your account.
At Tixel they’ve seen scammers using these techniques time and time again.
They’ve built a platform for fans to sell their tickets that protects you from scammers. They make sure buyers and sellers are who they say they are, verify tickets are real (they’ve NEVER sold a fake ticket), hold onto payments until you’ve successfully attended the event, hold onto the ticket until the buyer has successfully paid and cap pricing at 10 per cent above face value. Easy!
Visit tixel.com.au to safely buy or sell tickets to upcoming gigs near you.
Tixel crew
