Spotting a scam: KBTX Facebook post brings aggressive thirdhand ticket sales with no tickets

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – A KBTX Facebook post highlighting a record-breaking pace of season ticket sales for the upcoming football season brought numerous comments all hoping to sell their recent purchase.

However, after a day of trying to buy one of these tickets, KBTX came up empty-handed.

Scott Smith, the City of Bryan’s Chief Information Security Officer, says fake ticket sellers on social media can be easy to fall for.

“The only reason we’re seeing it more and more is because it’s successful. And so I think they’re you know here locally, we obviously we had the big George Strait concert and then the soccer match, big high-profile events here at the football stadium, which is unique. We haven’t had these kinds of events before, you know, then of course, we talked a little bit about Taylor Swift and how popular she is and so I mean, they’re getting scammed all over the world no matter where she is, there’s scammers. So I think as some of the bigger profile concerts have come here locally, it brings some opportunity for the bad actors to set up shop here,” Smith said.

KBTX messaged six of the sellers from the Facebook post. What was being offered: $20 for a season ticket, $50 for Texas A&M vs. Florida at Kyle Field and another $50 for the Texas A&M vs Texas Tech game this season.

The problem is those games don’t exist, and the cost of a season ticket isn’t even close to the cost of one game.

“Anything that’s too good to be true usually is,” Smith said.

After taking a look at the messages, Smith said not only was the price too good, but numerous red flags stood out.

“One of these things that’s a big kind of a scam is the electronic payments. You know, between friends PayPal, Venmo, Etc. are very, very convenient, right? But when you’re dealing with somebody, you don’t know that’s a red flag,” Smith said. “And then a fake handle to send the money to.”

Using the 12th Man website to purchase tickets firsthand or something like SeatGeek and Ticketmaster for secondhand is one way to prevent being scammed.

SeatGeek shared a statement with KBTX Tuesday highlighting safeguards to ensure ticket purchasers don’t lose out.

“Fraud is extremely rare on major ticketing provider sites like SeatGeek. In cases where a fraudulent ticket/purchase occurs, all major ticketing providers provide some sort of refund or compensation to the buyer (replacement tickets, a refund, promo code, etc.),” a representative for SeatGeek said. “Fans should shop on these marketplaces with confidence. As mentioned, fraud is significantly more common on sites like Craigslist.”

Smith says researching a profile you’re thinking about purchasing tickets from online should be your first step. If you can’t validify the tickets, Smith says it’s best to call it a loss.

“Do as much research as you can to where you can get a level of comfort. If you don’t, trust your gut and you know, maybe ‘I have to miss this concert, and not get scammed’,” he said.

The 12th Man released a statement highlighting the safety of direct ticket purchasing.

“While fans have various options for purchasing tickets to Texas A&M Athletics events, buying directly from the 12th Man Foundation, the official ticket provider for Texas A&M Athletics, ensures that your tickets are legitimate and that your purchase supports Aggie Athletics.”