BBB: Do’s and don’ts of buying re-sale tickets ahead of college football championship

ATLANTA - As the Georgia Bulldogs get ready to head to the West Coast for the national championship game, FBI officials and the Better Business Bureau are warning people interested in joining to be weary of scammers on the hunt for their next victim.

The number one ranked Georgia bulldogs will go on to face a number three ranked Texas Christian University (TCU) in the college football championship game on Jan. 9. It’s an exciting time for a lot of fans, but officials with the Better Business Bureau say they don’t want that excitement to cloud your judgment.

"Last year, the Better Business Bureau received over 100 complaints about ticket scams related to sporting events, concerts, theater and more," BBB spokesperson Simone Williams told FOX 5.

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Williams said there are a number of ways scammers are trying to dupe you out of your dollars. So, while the best option is to purchase directly from the venue, fans who insist on purchasing from a re-seller should make sure to verify that they’re legit.

"You want to look for the lock symbol on the website that indicates it’s a secure purchasing system. You don’t want to click through emails or online ads," Williams said.

The Better Business Bureau spokesperson said it is also important to look for details on the refund policy and use a payment method that comes with automatic protections.

"Debit cards wire transfer or cash transactions are risky if the tickets are fraudulent, and you won’t be able to get your money back," she went on.

Williams said consumers who are able to successfully purchase real tickets should avoid posting pictures of them on social media or the internet—particularly the bar code portion of the ticket.

"What scammers are doing [is] they’re actually recreating that ticket, and then going to the venue and saying that this is a legit ticket because you bought a legit ticket,"she explained. "But, now you voided your own ticket."

If you are unsure whether the re-seller you are dealing with is who they say they are, Williams said you can check with the National Association of Ticket Brokers, or use the BBB’s scam tracker to get a better idea.

"We have a new feature on our scam tracker that allows people to search our database to see if this particular phone number or this particular email address is being used to perpetuate scams."

Last year the average price of championship game tickets was around $3,000. So, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.