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In memory of James Dungy
January 6, 1987 -
December 22, 2005
The
Colts Influence
www.angelfire.com/ia3/colts
Constructed, destructed and reconstructed
By
Jon T. Anderson
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How
To Avoid Counterfeit Colt's Tickets
Despite improvements in technology and security
measures, fans continue to fall victim to counterfeit tickets sold
for major sporting events.
See Below for tips to
Avoid Buying Counterfeit Tickets
Click Here
The following are 2 News Articles pertaining to
counterfeit tickets
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Colts fan kicked out of game over counterfeit tickets
Posted: Oct 14, 2009 6:23 PM EDT Updated: Oct 14, 2009 6:40 PM EDT
Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - An Indiana man bought Colts tickets, watched the start
of the game but then got kicked out. It was his first trip to Lucas
Oil Stadium.
Game Four of the Colts season ended up as ticket trouble for a
football fan and his daughter. Joel Stackman promised his daughter, a
Purdue senior, a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium to cheer on Peyton Manning
and team. They drove to the stadium where a couple sold them tickets.
"People wearing Colts jerseys, a blond guy and a brunette gal. I
paid a considerable premium, $220 for a couple of $74 seats,"
Stackman said.
Stackman and his daughter even dropped off outerwear for Bob
Gregory's Coats for Kids collection. When they arrived at their
seats, they found them already occupied by a man and his family.
"He had two small kids there. It was a young man and two small
kids. They made them leave," said Stackman.
But 15 minutes later, stadium security made Stackman and his daughter
leave, saying their tickets were no good.
"How did two people get in on the same ticket? I don't know. I
would hate to see this happen to anybody else," he said.
Stackman and his daughter didn't put up a fight about being told to
leave Lucas Oil Stadium. But he insisted on a copy of his tickets
confiscated by security, who couldn't tell him why his tickets
scanned in if they were counterfeit.
Lt. Jeff Duhamell said it could have been a scanning error. "You
got 60,000 something people coming through there," he said.
Lt. Duhamell said although the investigation is ongoing, police have
not ruled out that the tickets were lost or stolen just prior to the
game. If so, that would result in different fans ending up with the
same seat tickets. Lt. Duhamell says tickets lost or stolen are
eventually taken out of the system so they are not valid.
Stackman hopes security cameras recorded the man and woman who sold
him the tickets and ruined his and his daughter's first visit to the
Colts new stadium.
"If you knew that, you are pretty rotten," he said.
The NFL nor the Colts Franchise takes responsibility for tickets they
don't sell, so anyone buying anywhere else is at their own risk. Joel
Stackman said he and his daughter finished watching the game at home.
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Police: Fake Colts Tickets Part Of Widespread
Counterfeit Ring
Up To 40 Bought From Trio Before Arrests, Authorities Say
POSTED: 6:46 am EST November 5, 2007
UPDATED: 3:31 pm EST November 5, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis police arrested three men during
Sunday's Colts game on suspicion of selling fraudulent tickets to
that event and being involved in a nationwide sports counterfeiting ring.
The men, all from Atlanta, also sold fake tickets during the Super
Bowl and were involved in a counterfeit-ticket operation that spanned
several states and has become the focus of an FBI
investigation, police said.
As many as 40 people bought fake tickets from the men before Sunday's
game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots at
the RCA Dome, police told 6News' Tanya Spencer.
Police said Eric North, 36, Archie Blair, 46, and Dwight Wilcoxson,
48, were pulled over on suspicion of speeding at about 5 p.m. and
eventually arrested. Authorities said the trio are suspected of being
part of a counterfeiting ring known as the "Atlanta Crew,"
which investigators believe involves as many as 30 other people.
"It was excellent police work with the officers that just
initiated from a traffic stop," Indianapolis police Lt. Jeff
Duhamell said. "We hope this puts a dent in it."
The tickets looked convincing, with some of them having hard-to-duplicate
holograms, police said. Investigators said they found 195 fake
tickets to Sunday's game and more than 100 others to various pro and
college games all over the country.
Officials said the fake Colts-Patriots tickets were selling on the
street for up to $275 each.
"We had been having problems here in Indianapolis as well as
other NFL sites with counterfeit tickets," Duhamell said.
"We had a big problem back at Super Bowl time, and we believe
that these individuals were directly involved.
Most of the people who bought the fake tickets are not from the
Indianapolis area. Two of the buyers used cell phone cameras to take
a picture of the man who sold them their tickets, police said.
Police said that was a good idea, but that they would have been
better off buying tickets from a broker.
"It's pretty sad, especially for those individuals that fly in
and pay the money for airfare &ldots; and them come in here and can't
even get in," Duhamell said.
Investigators said they found several hundred dollars in cash in the
car and found that the driver's license was suspended.
The Atlanta trio are expected to be charged in Indiana with forgery,
a Class C felony, and could be charged in other states, pending the
FBI investigation, police said.
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Avoid Buying Counterfeit Tickets
Most events have multiple
types of tickets they sell. For example, existing Season Ticket
holders often get the fanciest tickets, complete with holograms,
color photo, etc. But new Season ticket holders often get a modified
version of the ticket you would get from Ticketmaster.
Then there are the standard single game tickets fans buy from
Ticketmaster. And last, there are e-tickets.
Adding confusion, tickets do not look the same from year to year, or
stadium to stadium.
There is also the small
possibility the ticket is not counterfeit, but it is void or already
used. Now that many tickets have barcodes, they can be cancelled and
reissued. Or used, and then slipped to someone outside who resells it.
What's a Counterfeit?
Fake tickets are sold which
may (to some degree) appear real, but probably won't get you in.
Security of course always varies, but you could be out some cash and
in jail for trying to enter fraudulently. Counterfeiters have kept
pace with past attempts to foil their efforts, like replicating the
layering of variously colored papers. Nonetheless, complex images and
black-light techniques (neither of which can be successfully
duplicated) help identify what's real.
Simplest
Warning! Don't buy tickets at the event from an individual
on the street!!!!!
"Even if the
tickets do arrive and are real tickets, they are sometimes not for
the seats the seller advertised - which can mean the fan is stuck
with seats that aren't next to each other, are in the opponent's
section, are up in the nosebleed area, or have an obstructed view,"
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Be Wary of Overseas Sellers -
International counterfeit ticket sellers are known to price tickets
lower than the going rate to reel in U.S. buyers online. If the
overseas seller suggests not using Paypal
in favor of payment options with less buyer protection - or insist
using online payment tools unfamiliar to the buyer - that is a major
red flag.
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There are some sites out
there that do legitimately sell tickets to football games. Try doing
a google search and find the top online sellers, there are a few that
are almost household names at this point such as Stubhub.
Always do your due diligence though and double check your source
before you click that 'Send Payment' button!
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Craigslist
and other online classifies serve as a convenient and popular source
for tickets, but are a haven for counterfeiters drawn to the lack of
buyer protection
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If buying on eBay,
make sure you check the seller's rating and length of time with eBay.
Some sellers have excellent
ratings, but have been members for only months. A lot of them build
feedback by selling passwords and other low priced items, then they
list a big ticket item and take the money. Make sure the seller has
received good feedback for other high ticket items.
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Know the Seller. Are you
buying them from Ticketmaster?
Your co-worker or sibling? Someone you have bought from before? Or a
site or Brokerage that is large, has an excellent reputation, and has
been in business for a long time? Basically, if you know where to
find the Seller on game day if there is an issue - then they pass the
test for "knowing the seller."
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Know the Source. Are you
buying directly from the source - like Ticketmaster,
the team, or an artist? If not, did the Seller buy the ticket
directly from the source? So buying from a Broker who is a Season
Ticket Holder is fine, but buying from a Broker, who bought them from
a Season Ticket Holder, is not. One too many places something could
go wrong. Basically, if the Seller bought directly from the source -
then they pass the test for "knowing the source."
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Know how to get a refund.
Never pay with a cashier's check or wire money to a seller. Instead,
use a credit card or Paypal,
which offer some protection and potential reimbursement.
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Are you paying with a Credit
Card? If not, what will your plan be when you find out the tickets
are fake? Always use a Credit Card. Federal Law and Credit Card
agreements with merchants are biased toward the Consumer. If the
tickets are bad, and the Seller won't give you a refund, file a
dispute with the Credit Card. You will get a temporary credit on your
card, and the charge will be reversed if the Seller can't prove the
tickets were legitimate. If you paid with plastic, then they pass the
test for "know how to get a refund."
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Buy direct from the venue,
which can guarantee the ticket you purchase online will be valid to
attend the event.
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If you buy tickets through an
online auction, choose a seller with a long, continuous history of
satisfied customers. Scammers can hijack old accounts, so make sure
they have recently bought or sold other items
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When buying from an
individual through an online exchange don't be lured away from the
Web site by the seller. Even if you met the seller on the exchange
Web site, the company may not guarantee any lost money if a
transaction occurs outside their domain.
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Scrutinize photos of the
tickets closely for any inaccuracies or alterations, and cross-check
the seat assignment with the map on the venue's Web site.
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Real Tickets use a high
quality Card Stock, while fake tickets may not have the same quality.
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A hard stock Ticketmaster
ticket has very thin lamination which makes it glare.
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If the ticket looks dull, it
may be counterfeit
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Check the quality of the
printing - real tickets should have clear, crisp print - fake tickets
can sometimes have blurred printing as a result of using a cheap
printer or copier
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Check for spelling mistakes
on the ticket
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Check the seating
arrangements - make sure the tickets actually exist.
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A lot of scam artists will
modify tickets. They will actually use good tickets which will permit
entry, but will change the section and row. If someone is selling
Front Row tickets, say the Front Row is Floor 1, Row A and they have
tickets that say Floor 1, Row 1, then it should set off a signal that
the tickets may be modified since the venue uses letters for the rows
instead of numbers.
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If you are permitted entry
with a modified ticket, someone else with the real tickets will be
sitting in the seats you think you own. The venue manager will pull
both parties aside; make a quick decision which will usually end up
with the person who does not have proof of purchase being escorted
out of the building.
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Say you buy tickets online.
You're not the original buyer, but a secondary buyer. IF the original
buyer sells tickets to you, then reports them lost or stolen, Ticketmaster
will invalidate your tickets and issue new ones which will be held at
Will Call in the name of the original purchaser. And there is nothing
you can do to prevent this from happening.
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Check the times and dates on
the tickets and compare them to the Colt's schedule
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The Price - If you are buying
$1000 worth of season tickets for $200, there's a good chance you are
getting scammed
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Remember the Old Saying - "If
it seems too good to be true, it probably is!" Yes, It is
probably too good to be true.
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Call the Colts and ask
specifically if they have any special security measures embedded in
their tickets
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If the seller claims to be a
Season Ticket Holder selling his tickets, the person you are buying
from would have an account ID # with the Colts. Just call the Colts
and verify that the tickets are legit and from the actual owner (not
stolen). The person you are buying from should have no problem giving
you this information if they are legit.
It is said that you can
distinguish real from fake through these various tricks and trials:
(The Webmaster does not
claim these tricks to work)
You can get a small pocket
black light at Spencer's Gift stores.
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Cigarette test: Many
contend that you can (carefully, of course) hold a cigarette or match
to the back of the ticket -- if a small disc-shaped spot turns blank
on the front of the ticket rather than burning through, and without
burning through, then (purportedly) the ticket is legit.
Problem 1: This only works on Ticketmaster
tickets, not on mail order tickets.
Problem 2: This may be
reproducable by counterfeiters anyway.
Problem 3: If you burn
someone's ticket, and they thought and/or still think it's real, you
may end up in a fight.
Nonetheless, custom rules,
and this is commonly accepted as a test among many folks. Moreover,
it's so commonly regarded that anyone who refuses the cigarette test
may be (or at least usualy is) regarded as
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(a) selling a fake,
and
(b) knowing that what they're
selling is a fake. |
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