When even a consumer investigator gets duped, it’s a sign: ticket scams aren’t just targeting the careless—they’re designed to fool even the most cautious.
Recently, I found myself tangled in a frustrating ticket-buying debacle that started with a simple online search and ended with a double purchase, a chargeback, and a reminder that the ticket resale market is murky territory for the average consumer.
So, how do you avoid falling into the same trap? Let’s unpack what happened, and what every consumer needs to know before clicking “Buy Now”.
It Started With a Classic: To Kill a Mockingbird and a Broken Link
Like many Atlantans looking for a cultural night out, I searched online for tickets to a local performance of To Kill a Mockingbird. The website I found looked professional. The price wasn’t outlandish. Everything seemed in order.
What I didn’t realize at the time: I wasn’t buying from the theater or even a well-known resale platform. I had landed on a third-party ticket broker—one that operates in the shadowy space between legitimate resale and outright risk.
After completing the purchase, I waited for the email with my tickets to arrive.
It didn’t.
No link. No barcode. No instructions. Just... silence.
With only hours before the curtain rose, I made the call: I bought another set of tickets—this time, directly from the box office. At least I knew those would work.
The Refund That Wasn’t
Naturally, I contacted the broker to cancel the original purchase. That’s when the real frustration began.
Their customer service line insisted the event was still happening and that “the seller still has time to send the tickets.” Never mind that the show was only a few hours away—or that the link they eventually sent didn’t even work.
I wasn’t just annoyed—I was baffled. And I documented everything, including a timestamped screenshot of the useless email link that arrived far too late to be of any use.
But none of that mattered. According to their all sales final policy, I was stuck.
The Chargeback: A Consumer’s Last Line of Defense
Fortunately, there’s a silver lining in all this: credit card chargebacks exist for exactly this reason. When you’ve paid for something that wasn’t delivered—or was misrepresented—you can dispute the charge through your card issuer. It’s not always a guarantee, but it’s a critical consumer protection tool.
That’s the route I ended up having to pursue.
But let’s be clear: even the chargeback process is time-consuming. And if you’ve ever tried calling your credit card company, you know it’s not exactly a walk in the park.
So the best defense? Avoiding the situation entirely.
How to Spot a Ticket Trap—and Avoid It
Ticket resale scams (or even just unreliable brokers) are more common than ever. According to the Better Business Bureau, fraudulent ticket sales have spiked in recent years, especially as live events have come back with a vengeance post-pandemic. And the result has been thousands of consumers losing millions of dollars to shady resellers and bots.
In fact, the District Attorney of Queens, NY recently announced the arrest of two such resale scammers. According to the press release, these individuals stole 900 tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and then resold them at a massive markup. By targeting concert-goers desperate to experience the show of the decade, the scammers were able to make $600,000 in profit in less than a year.
To avoid getting burned:
- Buy directly from the venue whenever possible. Most theaters, arenas, and concert halls sell tickets via their official website or at the box office. This is your safest route.
- Be wary of Google ads and search results. Resellers pay to appear at the top of search listings, often mimicking the look of legitimate ticketing platforms.
- Double-check the URL. Official ticket vendors often have straightforward domains. If you see lots of dashes, extra letters, or strange country codes, think twice.
- Look for buyer protections. Some resale sites like StubHub or SeatGeek offer guarantees—but make sure you read the fine print.
Even the Experts Can Get Caught
If you’ve ever felt embarrassed about falling for something like this, don’t be. The truth is, these sites are designed to look credible. The logos, the pricing, the urgency—it’s all meant to create a sense of legitimacy and FOMO.
Even as a longtime consumer advocate, I slipped.
But now, I’m turning that misstep into a lesson. And hopefully, it saves you the time, money, and aggravation I dealt with.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to tickets, the old rules still apply: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t trust that a flashy website and a few positive reviews mean you’re in the clear. And when in doubt? Call the box office.
Not only will you save money on bogus “handling” fees—you’ll save yourself a headache.