We all make mistakes but we hope to learn from them. Sometimes if we’re lucky, someone else will make the mistake and you can learn from them to avoid it yourself. Many times, people on Craigslist or other trade sites people are honest and wanting to help. However, if you happen to run into something that looks to good to be true, proceed with caution. Here are our top tips to avoid ticket scams and fraud.

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Tip #1. Deal with someone directly/in person.

Craigslist has a whole section on dealing with sellers on their website. At Tickets For Less, we guarantee to have authentic and legitimate tickets. We offer tickets to be emailed via PDF to scan off your phone or we can have them printed and have customers pick them up. If buying electronic tickets, ask for them to be transferred through their season ticket accounts. Electronic tickets printed out can easily be manipulate or printed multiple times. Transferring the tickets into your account assures you the tickets will be valid. If you don’t have an account, create one. The extra steps are worth making sure your tickets will work. Be cautious of someone on Craigslist or Ebay asking for a wire transfer or asking for the money before you ever receive the tickets. It should be an even trade. If it’s not, something may be fishy. If you’re buying outside the venue/event, ask the seller to walk you to the door to make sure the ticket scans and goes through.

Tip #2. Check legitimate ticket brokers, like Tickets For Less or StubHub, to see what the going rate for those tickets is.

If you go to our website or another, at checkout, you’ll see exactly how much a ticket is going for. Let’s say someone is offering half the price of market value, there may be a fraud issue coming your way. If they’re asking double the market value, ditch that sale and go to a secure website for cheaper tickets… which means more money in your pocket. Be sure to check the date, time, venue and other event information on the ticket and compare it to an official broker’s site to see if the info matches. No ticket will have wrong information on it. If your concert ticket lists Kenny Chesney on August 14th and at Uptown but the schedule says otherwise, it’s a fraud!

Tip #3. There shouldn’t be a guarantee.

Yes official brokers have guarantees, but any time you’re dealing with a sale on another website with a person to person sale, there can’t be a guarantee. They cannot guarantee any sort of transaction, certification of tickets or third party promise because they are simply a one-person show. Ticket brokers and official ticket sales have been given rights and follow legalities in order to certify and guarantee their tickets. Online sales via person to person business, is only a “I give you my word” promise. People can promise good tickets but they cannot guarantee anything. If they claim to have one, check the website or company’s Better Business Bureau rating.

Tip #4. Grammar, spelling and punctuation.

“I am sells 4 tickets to concert Taylor Swift on Wenesday September 8th for $150 total. Tickets are guarnateed and can be delivered ASAP need to know if you want them immediatly.” This offer seems too good to be true but it also has a lot of misspellings, bad grammar and missing punctuation. Be cautious as this may be a sign of ticket scams or fraud.

Tip #5. Official looking yet not official emails and domain names.

First of all, hard tickets are better than PDF/digital tickets when buying from a third party seller on Craigslist. If you buy from Tickets For Less or another broker directly from the website, those digital copies are guaranteed and 100% okay. From tip #3, Craigslist sellers cannot guarantee their tickets, but you should also be cautious if they claim to only have the digital format. Go to tip #6 if they are only digital and check their information. Occasionally people can send tickets and emails using like but not exact names. Ticket Master warns that only emails and tickets sent from @ticketmaster.com is legit. Scammers can use @ticketmasters.com or @ticket-master.com these are close but not exact. Same goes for all websites and buying their tickets from a third party.

Tip #6. Ask for the seller’s information.

If they are selling tickets, they had to of bought the tickets somewhere. Ask for their invoice showing the tickets the bought. The invoice will show the exact section, row and seats along with the buy information. If they show it all matching, you can proceed. If they aren’t able to provide an invoice, ask for them to share their customer account number from where they bought the tickets etc. stop and decline the offer.

Tip #7. Be confident and say no to ticket scams.

If you went through all these tips, or right off the bat you’re unsure of the deal, be confident. When your gut is saying no, walk away. If they are pressuring you for a rapid transaction, move on to another seller that gains your confidence and trust with time. To avoid ticket scams and fraud, it’s important to be safe than sorry. Many people are out for good but not all people. There will be another safe and secure way to get tickets so it’s okay to forgo this one deal.