Be Careful of Ticket Selling Scams Using Zelle

[Spoofee]

Craigslist and 3rd party ticket selling sites is a great place to buy tickets for cheap at a lower price, but scammers have been looming. One of our staff member was a victim this weekend.

The Scam
There will be a listing of a ticket for a popular event
Seller will take almost any offer
Seller will ask you to pay by Venmo or Zelle
Scammers are getting clever and they may send a believable screen shot of the receipt
Once you pay, they will block your phone number
To confirm that it was a scam, you can try asking if the ticket is available from another number

Tips to Avoid Being Ripped Off
* Meet in Person for the exchange - Ask to see ID but be fair and show yours too.
* Ask to talk over Facebook and make sure they have a healthy Facebook page with a history where they are interacting with friends
* Ask the seller if you can pay once you confirm the tickets are valid upon entering
* You can ask the seller to send you a request through Paypal so you can easily file a dispute if an issue happens. Not the best method since you still need to file a dispute which can take weeks to get back your funds

Safe Places to Buy Tickets
* GameTime - Best for last minute
* Seat Geek
* TicketMaster
* Stub Hub
* TickPick

 

[Guest]

Geez! That's terrible. I hope your friend was able to call their credit card company and stop payment. I've never used or heard of Zelle, but it sounds like they should have better protections for the consumer!

 

[Guest]

Geez, that's terrible! I'm sorry that person got scammed. I hope the victim of the scam contacts their credit card company and stops payment! I've never used/heard of Zelle, but it sounds like they need to set up stronger consumer protections!

 

[Guest]

The real scam are ticketmaster fees.

 

[Guest]

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