Don't let paperless ticket scammers sideline your game-day plans

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's kickoff time for the college and professional football seasons, and if you plan to head to a game, watch out for ticket scammers.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong, a large number of safety measures are still in place, including the emphasis on paperless tickets.

In many instances, these venues are no longer accepting any form of paper, not even a printout of a ticket, giving scammers an opportunity to gain access to your computer and personal information.

"People are excited about seeing their teams in person this year making them more eager than ever to purchase tickets," said Mallory Wojciechowski, president, and CEO of BBB of Eastern North Carolina. "It is important for consumers to be aware of the most common ways that scammers have been taking advantage of paperless tickets including 'selling' tickets, receiving payment, and then sending fake ticket emails or sending links that lead to getting personal and credit card information."

Whether it is a sporting event, concert, or show at the theatre it's important to know where you're getting your tickets from.

"We encourage you to try to reach out to the team, the venue or if it's an event and try to make sure that you're using their third party that they may be using oftentimes, Ticketmaster" Alyssa Parker with the BBB, said. "But if you are going through another site, just make sure that you are getting as much accurate information as possible."

Always use payment methods that come with a level of protection, such as credit cards.

Debit cards or cash transactions are higher risks. If the tickets are fraudulent, in many cases, you won't be able to get your money back. Often times it's too late once you realize you have a fake ticket.

"You don't know how many people have gotten this same QR code barcode for this ticket to this event," Parker said.