By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – With the Chicago Cubs looking to make history, ticket scammers looking to cash in on excited fans.
According to ticket resale site seatgeek.com, a ticket for a World Series ticket for game three at Wrigley Field would start at more than $2,300 with secondary ticket websites listing some tickets at $35,000. Technologically savvy ticket scammers see this as an opportunity to score big by fooling an unsuspecting consumer that they’re paying thousands for a seat at the historic series.
Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois President Steve Bernas said that people looking to get tickets online or at the ballpark need to beware of making an emotional purchase.
“Every game coming up will have people that are pushing counterfeit tickets,” he said. “People will go on Craigslist or do anything they can to get into that ballpark.”
Bernas said to resist the urge to show off your tickets online because “a scammer can grab the barcode off the picture and copy them in some way.” He says to check out the reputation of any website you are looking to buy tickets from at ask.bbb.org.
The Cubs and Major league baseball are currently suing a number of vendors that parked outside of Wrigley for selling knockoff merchandise.
Here are some suggestions from the Better Business Bureau if you’re looking into buying tickets.
– Don’t fall for too-good-to-be-true deals. One-time good deals should be red flags to anyone anxious for a ticket.
– Buy tickets and merchandise from a reputable ticket broker or retailer. There are established businesses that have been selling legitimate tickets for years. Many are Accredited Businesses with the BBB.
– Look for the official hologram and license from the sports league. These are very difficult to fake and an excellent indication of a licensed product.
– If buying merchandise online, buy from licensed sites. Look out for broken English in the descriptions. This could indicate an overseas company, and these companies are among the principal culprits in producing counterfeit goods.
– Use a credit card if possible, so you can appeal to the card company. Using a credit card allows you to dispute the charge before you pay.
Game 3 and 4 are scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights in Chicago.
