Police Arrest Juvenile Involved in Craigslist Ticket Scam
The Golden Valley Police Department arrested a juvenile on December 28 who is part of a larger group of individuals selling fraudulent entertainment tickets. Venues include the Guthrie and Pantages Theaters, and MN Wild, Vikings and Twins. The suspects have been using Craigslist to advertise the sale of these fraudulent tickets.
If you have been recently victimized in this type of crime or have any information, please contact Golden Valley Police Department at 763-593-8079. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
In these cases, the tickets were not hard tickets, but printable tickets from an email.
Due to the ongoing investigation into this matter, no additional information will be available at this time.
Tips for Avoiding Ticket Scams
Craigslist provides an excellent means to sell unneeded tickets to sporting events, shows, concerts, festivals, fairs or even airline tickets. Finding deals or tickets to hot shows or "sold out" events has made it one of the first places to turn to when you want to purchase tickets. Many of these tickets are sold for top dollar, but considering the considerable cost of tickets, even face value can mean a lot of money is going to change hands.
- Ask the seller for their account #. It should match their name from the ticket rep and the tickets. The account # is on the top of the ticket. Call the team or ticket agent and speak to the person's ticket rep and verify the person has an account and has tickets. People who have legitimate season tickets have no problem giving you their ticket reps name.
- Always meet in person, if possible. If possible, arrange for payment via PayPal as it protect you (expecially if the tickets are never sent or fraudulent). To protect your personal account ifnormation, never pay with a personal check.
- If the person is mailing you the tickets make sure you get some type of written receipt or contract via email stating when and how the tickets will be delivered/sent. Pay 1/2 now and the other 1/2 when the tickets are received. And make sure the person let's you know they got your money and they are sending the tickets, track your communication via email!
- People selling tickets at face value may be selling fake or scalped tickets. This is not ALWAYS the case, but it does happen. There are tons of scams out there. Check ticket agencies for views of seating charts, the cost of tickets, the dates of games, concerts, shows, etc. Research the tickets you are buying and know what you are getting! Tickets are easily reproduced so be aware of what you are buying.
Be Aware, Protect yourself and avoid scams. There are some great sellers out there (Please post their names if you have had great contacts so others can go to them or web sites)! If you've been ripped off, report it immediately so others don't fall into the same trap you did.
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