Packers season brings ticket fraud

GREEN BAY - Every football season Packers fans descend on Lambeau Field.

And every year, with dozens of web sites hawking tickets, some fans get cheated by unscrupulous sellers.

"There's a whole lot of web sites out there selling Packers tickets and there's a whole lot of scams out there," said Bob Zaspel with the state's Consumer Protection Department.

Zaspel says a fan recently spent $4,000 on tickets on craigslist.org.
The seller now claims the tickets were "lost in transit."

"Four games have gone by and he's still waiting for his tickets," said Zaspel.

"It happens more often than you'd even want to think about," said Packers Ticket Director Mark Wagner.

Still--the Packers organization said it hasn't encountered any scams or counterfeit tickets yet this year.

However, it said the team's partnership with Ticketmaster, which allows season ticket holders to sell their tickets online, has created some issues.

"Somebody has emailed us a ticket out of their account, somebody else has printed that ticket at home and the original has shown up at the game. We've had a couple instances of that," said Wagner.

Right now the Packers record is one and one. If the season goes well, fans are happy--but consumer protection advocates warn the better the season, the more instances of ticket fraud they see.

"Obviously there's more money involved and there's definitely money to be made doing this," said Zaspel.

If you do buy online, Consumer Protection says check to see if the seller is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers.

Fans can also buy tickets on the team's Web site, and at Packer Fan Tours.

The team's official tour company says ticket fraud hurts the industry as a whole.

"People are then less willing to buy tickets or they know there's a risk that there's a chance they're not going to go to the game," said Operations Manager Eran Roth.

Zaspel says do your homework and be extra careful before you send somebody money--and adds it's the best form of consumer protection there is.

Consumer Protection officials offer some other tips to avoid becoming a ticket fraud victim.

Before you pay anything or give a credit card number, ask the seller to fax you a copy of the tickets.

Contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection to see if complaints have been filed against the business, and check with the Better Business Bureau.

Use a credit card if you do decide to buy, since it may provide some protection later if you don't receive them.

Do not travel any significant distance to the game without having your game tickets in hand.