Simi Valley Mom Warns Parents Of One Direction Ticket Scams
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — British boy band sensation One Direction performed one of four sold-out shows at the Staples Center Wednesday night, but a mother-daughter duo nearly wasn't able to watch the guys on stage after falling for an online ticket scam.
Simi Valley mom Michelle Williamson was set on surprising her 12-year-old, Olivia, with tickets to the Los Angeles show.
"Sometimes you do things for your kids and it was kind of a desperate, 'Oh My God, am I even going to get tickets for this show?'" she said.
The mother said she thought she found a deal with two floor seats for $450 on Craigslist. Despite her gut feeling that something was wrong, she handed the seller cash.
"I sat in my car and as I looked at the tickets, (the ticket sellers) were gone, so it wasn't like I had an opportunity to say, 'Hey, I'm feeling weird about this,'" Williamson said.
Ecstatic about the concert, Olivia posted a video on Instagram.
"My mom just surprised me with One Direction tickets. This is the best day of my life," she said.
The tickets, however, were fake, and Olivia was crushed.
"They're my favorite band and they're not exactly just a band, they're a lot more than that," she said.
Williamson said she filed a police report, but was told there's virtually no way to get her money back.
She's now warning other parents of the scam.
"To do what I did is not even safe, and I got totally ripped off, and I'm really angry," said Williamson.
KCAL9's Andrea Fujii reported that even though all the One Direction shows were sold out, the group released a limited number of extra seats. Olivia and her mother were able to snatch tickets for the show.
"I just really, really want to see them, really bad," said Olivia.
