How to avoid buying fake Ohio State tickets
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Kickoff is right around the corner!
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team will make their season debut in Ohio Stadium this weekend. But before the season starts, the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio issued a warning for eager fans hoping to cheer on the team in-person.
"When Ohio State football's in session, that is a great time for scammers to take advantage," said Judy Dollison, President of the BBB of Central Ohio. "We know that fans can get really excited and caught up and do things they might not otherwise do."
Dollison said it's important to realize scammers may send an image of a fake or already-used ticket, and unsuspecting buyers will never know… their "ticket" just won't work at the gate on game day. So, if you're planning to buy, consider your source. The BBB suggested going to an official ticket seller.
"So, in this case, the Ohio State Athletic Office," Dollison said. "But, if you're going to go through a resaler or a broker, you want to make sure you're going to a trusted source. There's also verifiedticketsource.com, which is a website of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, which will confirm the legitimacy of the ticket seller that you're working with."
Look up the actual face value of the tickets, as scammers will often try to entice you with a low price. And do your due diligence when it comes to the details.
"Look for things like, the block, row and seat details on the ticket," said Dollison. "We saw this a lot during the Taylor Swift concerts. People would get tickets, and they, afterwards, after they paid for them, would realize, you know, it didn't even have the right information on it, or all of the information on it. Sometimes it had the right date, but the wrong venue."
And be wary of unfamiliar websites or social media ads. Don't click on just any link.
"If you look closely in the URL, what you'll find is sometimes they're just a typo, or a slight misspelling of the name," Dollison said. "So, on first glance, you really think you're on that legitimate site. But you're on a scam site. Any information you put in, that credit card number, is compromised, and you're not going to get tickets."
When you do buy, whatever the price, the BBB recommended using a credit card. Never use peer-to-peer payment methods like Venmo or Zelle, because there is little recourse to get your money back on those platforms if the ticket is a fake. Credit cards offer more protection and options to dispute charges, if it comes to that.