At BCEC, we recognise the issue of unauthorised ticket sellers is a serious one. Forged and fraudulently-obtained tickets are presented and denied entry to nearly every event we present.
To avoid becoming a victim to a scammer, read our four top tips to avoid the ticket scalping trap. You also may be interested in a recent article about a person who scammed a dozen victims, including fans of Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars by pretending to sell them concert tickets online. He was caught and recently sentenced to jail by the courts.
It is said he ‘swindled a total of more than $200,000 from his victims between 2015 and 2018 including taking $2100 from four music fans he found through classified websites.’
The Judge said his ‘actions of ripping off eager concertgoers he found on various classified websites in February 2018 by pretending to have tickets and tricking them into sending money for tickets he never sent were “really mean in nature”.
HERE ARE OUR 4 TOP TIPS TO AVOID THE TICKET SCALPING TRAP:
- Don’t assume that the top spot on Google is the real deal. We’ve become a society of “Googlers”. Want to know the capital of Iceland? Just Google it. Want to find out the opening times of Olio? Just Google it. Want to buy tickets to your favourite show? Just Google it. Google is amazing at helping us answer our questions. However, the top spots on Google are often ads, meaning that these spots are paid for. What’s stopping ticket resellers from paying their way to the top?
- Double check the price. When you see the price of a ticket you’re buying and your mouth drops to the floor because it’s so expensive, it’s probably best that you double check the price. Ticket resellers sometimes sell tickets for double or triple the price of the original ticket. It’s best to double check another source (preferably the ticket site the artist is promoting).
- Check the artist’s website and social media. If you seriously love an artist, surely you’re watching their every move on their social media channels, their website and through their event alert emails? The artist will be sure to publish the authorised ticket-seller, such as Ticketek – guaranteeing you a seat at their show.
- Check the venue’s link. Here at BCEC, we want to ensure that everyone who buys a ticket, gets to see the show. That’s why when we post our upcoming events on our website and social media channels, the links go directly to the authorised ticket seller.
Don’t be a victim – only purchase from BCEC’s authorised sellers for each event.
