With the Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs and the Super Bowl on the horizon, police are warning sports fans to watch for a major foul: stolen and counterfeit tickets.
A Venice couple lost out on at least $750 Sunday after they bought a pair of club seats to the Bucs game against the Green Bay Packers from an online ticket broker, Tampa Police Department Sgt. Bill Todd said today. They learned at Raymond James Stadium that the tickets had been reported stolen and therefore were invalid. Police are investigating the theft.
"People who are out to make you a victim are going to go where the odds are the greatest," Todd said. "The winning team is going to be the ticket that's in demand."
Sunday's game was the third the Bucs have won this year in the regular season. Although the season is still young, Todd said, police working undercover at the games already have spotted ticket scammers.
Popular this year is printing and selling multiple copies of a single paper receipt and bar code for electronic tickets, he said. "There's no limit to how many times they can print that," Todd said. "The first one to the gate wins."
Todd said counterfeiting experts travel from event to event nationwide. "They have the resources to have high-quality tickets. You can't rely on poor printing."
In general, tickets with holograms are difficult to duplicate, Todd said.
Some counterfeiters will produce tickets with fake seats or multiple tickets for the same seats.
To protect themselves, fans should keep their tickets in a secure place, not lying around their house, their office or their car, Todd said.
He also recommended buying tickets directly from a sports team or stadium or an authorized, reputable dealer such as Ticketmaster. "You want a place you can go back to if you have a problem," he said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement