FBI warning about Peach Bowl, National Championship ticket scams
Meet Huddles, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl's new mascot
The countdown is on to the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes facing off at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The game's president and CEO Gary Stokan had something special to reveal on Good Day Atlanta - the newest member of the Peach Bowl team.
ATLANTA - As the Georgia Bulldogs prepare to defend their national championship against No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, the FBI is warning fans to not fall in the hands of scammers.
According to the agency's Atlanta branch, the current lowest price for a standing room only ticket to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta is over $250.
That's a lot of money, and a lot of money you could use if you end up getting tricked in a scam.
FBI Atlanta Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Seres says that prospective buyers may see last-minute tickets that look like a great deal, but you should keep your eye out for people posing as legitimate third party realtors.
"If the price seems too good to be true, it likely is," Seres says.
For the lucky ones who have an extra ticket to the game, the FBI says you should never post a picture of the ticket on social media or anywhere online.
The Peach Bowl trophy on the stand after the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2021. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
The barcode found on the tickets is a "goldmine" for scammers, Seres says. The scammers can either use the information to go to the game without paying or copy in the info to make fraudulent tickets that could be used to trick other victims.
"Consumers should protect ticket barcodes as they would credit card numbers," a spokesperson for the FBI said in a statement.
Georgia is the defending national champion and will be playing in a familiar setting on New Year's Day. The Bulldogs opened the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, about 75 miles from the Georgia campus, by beating Oregon 49-3 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game and then returned to the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons for the SEC championship game.
The Ohio State-Georgia winner will play either Michigan or TCU in the Jan. 9 national championship game in Los Angeles. Georgia is trying to become the first team since Alabama in 2011-12 to win back-to-back national titles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.