BBB: Protect Yourself From Final Four Ticket Scams
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Better Business Bureau has a warning for basketball fans looking to pick up tickets to the Final Four: Buy from reputable brokers.
When the Super Bowl was in town more than a year ago, some tickets were selling for several thousand dollars, but college basketball fans won't have to break the bank nearly as much this weekend.
Tickets for the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament range in price from $165 to $31,000 through the NCAA, so the BBB says to be wary about scammers trying to capitalize on the event. The bureau says nearly 400 ticket scam reports were submitted to the BBB Scam tracker last year.
"If you just wanted to go to the championship game, I think we have tickets starting at $200, which there are Vikings games that are more expensive than that," said Michael Nowakowski, owner of Ticket King. The reputable Twin Cities broker is selling Final Four seats, but something in particular about the tickets concerns him.
"Super Bowl tickets have holograms which are very difficult to copy. (A Final Four ticket) doesn't have one. So I would be very careful buying a physical, printed ticket from anybody that isn't a reputable, reseller of the tickets," he said.
The BBB said during 2018 Final Four, at least 400 people bought fraudulent tickets, but that's only the number that was reported, meaning it could be significantly higher. Often, people were scammed during online transactions.
"If anyone asks you to wire money, use a prepaid debit card – those are always big red flags for us," said Bess Ellenson, communications director for the BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota. "Whenever possible, use a credit card. Those charges you can dispute, and a lot of the times you'll get your money back."
The BBB also reminds buyers not to rush a purchase.
"Ask about refund policies, ask about when you're actually going to receive the tickets. The more questions you ask, the better your chances are of not getting scammed," said Ellenson.
And last but definitely not least, a tip that's as old as time:
"If it seems too good to be true, it is, always," Nowakowski said.
Before buying a ticket from a broker, you can research if the company is legitimate on the BBB website and the National Association of Ticket Brokers website.