'Don't Fall For What Looks Too Good To Be True:' Summer Concert Season Brings Ticket Scams

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's summer concert season and the lure of big-name entertainment means fans are eager and scam artists are relentless.

"Part of our difficultly, with technology, it's almost impossible to find who's the fraudsters," The Better Business Bureau's Warren King told KDKA's Kym Gable.

King is the President and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania BBB.

He says the organization "crowd-sources" scams through its Scam Tracker program. That's how investigators found a mom in Munhall who became a victim on Craigslist. She bought tickets to the Ariana Grande concert at PPG Paints Arena for herself and two teen-aged daughters.

"In this particular case, these tickets would normally go for $300. And on Craigslist they were $175. That's the first red flag," explained King. "She goes and pays the scammer, and three hours later, she gets a notice from Ticketmaster saying these tickets were bought using a stolen credit card and they were illegitimate, and there was no way she was getting a refund."

The Better Business Bureau urges consumers to purchase tickets to events from a trusted and licensed source and to use credit cards when possible.

"Don't fall for what looks too good to be true, because typically you're going to lose your money."