Buyer beware: Fake Chiefs tickets reported ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game
If you are looking to buy tickets to the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game Sunday and an online seller wants to meet at 3 a.m. in a dark parking lot, then there’s a good chance that you’re about to become a victim, police say.
Kansas City police issued a warning Thursday that ticket buyers need to exercise caution if they are looking to make a deal for some tickets.
Police have already received about 20 phone calls from people who think they have been duped or scammed into buying fake Chiefs tickets, said Lori Meadors, a detective with the Kansas City Police Department’s economic crimes section.
“If it’s too good to be true, then it is probably too good to be true,” Meadors said.
The investigative unit routinely sees an uptick in reports of such scams before large sporting events, as it did when the Kansas City Royals went to the World Series.
“People get the opportunity to purchase these tickets and go to the game because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for them and they just get so excited just like anybody else,” Meadors said. “You don’t want to be disappointed; you want it to be true.”
Meadors recommends only buying tickets from reputable outlets like NFL.com, StubHub or Ticketmaster. That way the buyer can verify that they are buying valid game tickets.
That means avoiding tickets sales generated through ads on Facebook or Craiglist, where there is no way the buyer can be sure they are purchasing legitimate tickets, she said.
Police have become familiar with two common ticket schemes.
In one, criminals manufacture their own tickets. They buy tickets online, print them out and then make duplicates.
In another scheme, criminals sell the same real ticket to two different people: a paper version of the ticket is sold to one person and a second person is sold an online version of the ticket.
In that case, Meadors said, it comes down to “whoever gets to the stadium first.”
If you must buy a ticket from another person, be sure the transaction is done at a well-lit public location with surveillance cameras. Get a detailed description of the person who is selling tickets, their vehicle and license plate information.
Be sure to verify your tickets before completing the transaction. That can be done by checking team or NFL websites. People who are scammed shouldn’t expect to get their money back, Meadors said.
If the fraudulent ticket sale exceeds $750, persons arrested could face felony fraud or forgery charges.
