From the Cheez-It Bowl and Billy Joel at Chase Field in Phoenix, to the Rolling Stones and Garth Brooks at State Farm Stadium in Glendale - the Valley is looking to be a huge sports and concert hot spot over the next few months.
But, with all those ticket sales swirling around our state, Attorney General Mark Brnovich is warning about fake ticket sales.
"These are crimes of opportunity and it's sad because... you're trying to set up a memory of a lifetime and instead what you remember is getting ripped off for the rest of your life," Brnovich said.
Since 2015, Brnovich said his office has recovered around $80,000 for people who are victims of fake ticket sales with roughly 100 people reporting these scammers.
He offers up this list of tips to make sure you do not become one of them ahead of any of the Valley's upcoming events:
- If you purchase tickets online, use a credit card. You may have more protection using a credit card in the vent there is something wrong with the ticket you purchased.
- Purchase tickets from a trusted vendor.
- Compare prices with different vendors.
- Ensure the website is official, not a third-party knockoff.
- Do not pay for tickets using a wire transfer or prepared gift cards.
- Be cautious of deals that sound too good to be true.
- Always check the consumer reviews.
- Be careful what you post online. Scam artists can easily take the bar code of a ticket from an online post and use it to create fraudulent tickets, possibly leaving you out of the event because someone has already used the bar code to enter the event.
- Complete your transaction on the website where you initiated the purchase. Don't let a seller convince you to send a payment through a different website.
If you do, unfortunately, become a victim, Brnovich asks that you call the Phoenix office at 602-542-5763.
