Although buying online has become as much a normal part of life as buying from a store or box office, scamming is still a very real occurrence in the world of online purchases. This is especially true when it comes to buying tickets, which can easily be faked, copied, or simply made up. Because of this, if you’re considering going online to buy tickets for events such as concerts, stand-up comedy, festivals, sporting events and more, it’s important to ensure that you stay vigilant and avoid getting scammed out of your hard-earned money. We’ve put together some top tips to help you recognize scam sellers and ensure that any tickets that you buy are genuine.

Use Official Sites

When buying tickets online, it can always be tempting to look elsewhere, such as on social media and general sales listing sites such as Craigslist in order to find the best deal on second hand tickets. Although this can definitely be a great way of getting a cheap deal and not everybody who sells on social media or Craigslist will be a scammer, it is definitely more of a risky method of doing things. Using official ticket selling sites, such as ticketoffices.com, is the best thing to do when you are purchasing second hand tickets online. Not only will you still be able to access the best deals and offers on second hand tickets to whichever event you hope to be attending, you can also trust that your payment will be protected and you’ll usually be refunded in the event of your tickets not being genuine or failing to arrive.

Take Your Time

If you’re rushing to find the best tickets at the best price, chances are that you’re putting yourself at a higher risk of getting scammed. Making sure that you take the time to be thorough when you’re looking for tickets online, as well as checking the credentials of every site that you use and ensuring that your money is going to be protected is important to your safety when purchasing not only tickets, but anything online. It’s also good to know that one of the main tactics of scam artists is to rush their victims into making a quick decision and handing the money over. Usually, this is done by creating a sense of urgency – for example, a scam artist is more likely to be pressuring people into purchasing tickets by announcing that there is only one or two left.

Meet in Person

If you’re planning to try and save money by purchasing your tickets second hand through an external site such as Craigslist or eBay, for example, it’s a good idea to always meet any ticket sellers in person whenever possible. Although buyers on eBay are usually protected via PayPal and will be refunded for any scam tickets, Craigslist and similar sites can be a little riskier if you’re buying tickets to events second hand. Because of this, paying in cash and meeting up with the seller in person not only means that you’re able to check the ticket beforehand, you can also pay in-person to avoid being scammed out of your money and not receiving the ticket.

Watch Out for Scam Emails

Often, scam artists will use social engineering in the form of emails which look like they’ve come from elsewhere in order to scam you out of your money. If you have an email from PayPal, your bank, or your credit card provider which requests that you send money to the seller before you have the tickets, it’s a good idea to check with whoever the email appears to be from beforehand in order to ensure that it is genuine. Although there is every chance that the email will be authentic and from the sender that it appears to be from, it’s always a better choice to be safe rather than sorry.

Choose Your Payment Method Wisely

If you’re unable to meet the seller in person and need to send them the money first in order for them to send you tickets, paying via a method which offers you some extra protection, such as PayPal, is a good idea. If you’re paying via PayPal, don’t forget to select the option that says you are paying for goods and services, in order to ensure that your money is protected. Although you may be charged a fee, the peace of mind is definitely worth it.

Buying tickets online is usually quite easy, but it can also be easy to get scammed out of your money if you’re not careful.