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Buying From A Scalper Can Be A Ticket To Trouble

March 22, 2006

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Technology increasingly makes it easier for scam artists to rip people off. Computer-generated tickets, for example, can easily be photo copied and sold to unsuspecting consumers over and over.

In Des Moines, Iowa, police are looking for a scammer who bought five electronic tickets through Ticketmaster for a performance of the Lion King. The tickets, printed out of a computer, had a bar code that would allow one user per ticket to enter the auditorium.

Police say the scammer sold multiple copies of each ticket, with at least 30 people getting shut out of the show when the ticket-taker scanned their tickets at the door. The scammer reportedly charged $50 for the counterfeit tickets.

Police say it's always risky buying tickets from a scalper, who usually charges significantly more than the face value of the ticket. In the era of e-tickets and computer printouts, they warn those risks are simply magnified.

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