As UConn men’s basketball team makes their way to the Final Four, some fans may be debating whether or not to pack their bags and hit the road for a historic weekend.
There are countless ways for consumers to score sweet tickets, but you don’t want to be scammed.
Last year, the Better Business Bureau received more than 140 reports about ticket-related rip-offs.
NBC Responds teams across the country get lots of these complaints, too. BBB’s number one tip to shop safely before tipoff: buy from the venue whenever possible.
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For the Final Four, NCAA directs fans to “On Location,” its ticket partner, for official ticket packages.
As of Wednesday afternoon, you can get you into the semifinals games from $170 to thousands of dollars for better seats and other added extras, too.
Looking to get a better deal on a re-sale site? Know who you’re buying from and do your research.
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Don’t just google Ticketmaster, for example, and click on the first site that pops up.
Many times, those top listed links are misleading advertisements.
“People are not just looking up cheap tickets on the internet anymore. They’re also using Facebook or Instagram. They will see an add pop up, they will see a Facebook group pop up, you’ll join it and next thing you know they’re using a nontraditional method to pay for the tickets,” said Kristen Johnson, the communications director for BBB Serving CT.
Johnson says people should watch out for some of those nontraditional payment methods, “like a Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, and it's harder to get your money that way, which is why scammers want you to use it, so that's a big red flag right there.”
Instead, she says always use a credit card, which provides some recourse if you run into some problems.
BBB also suggests fans only buy from a seller who provides clear details about the transaction, like where your seats are located.
Also, beware of mistakenly just buying a ticket to one of the fan fests, tailgates, parties or musical performances and not a ticket to the actual game.
BBB says if you ever have a question about the validity of what you bought, head to the venue’s call center to verify.
And if and when you buy a ticket to see the Huskies, download your ticket to your digital wallet before the event just in case cell service is spotty outside a bustling arena for the biggest college basketball event of the year.
