Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel warns Lions fans about online ticket scams

As the Detroit Lions return to the playoffs as the NFC North Champions, fans may want to jump on tickets for the first-ever playoff game at Ford Field. It’s not uncommon for Lions Wild Card game tickets to sell for thousands of dollars on retail sites like Ticketmaster. Nessel wants consumers to stay mindful when looking for tickets on the internet as they come with a certain amount of risk. 

Nessel stated “Online ticket sales come with a certain amount of risk. It’s easy for scammers to create a phony screenshot of a ticket that doesn’t exist or has previously been sold – possibly more than once. If you’re buying tickets to this weekend’s playoff game at Ford Field, make sure the tickets you pay for are authentic and they will actually get you into the game.”

Scammers have several ways to steal money from ticket-buyers and sellers. 

Peer-to-peer (P2P) money apps such as Apple Pay, Cash App, and Venmo among others, can be used in payment app scams. 

Some payment app scams to look out for are:

  • Impersonating your bank – A scammer may call to alert you about “suspicious activity” and direct you to send money to yourself or a fake bank address. Your bank will never tell you to send money.
  • Claiming to represent a fraud department – A fraudster may ask you to confirm your bank account, username and password, credit card or debit card data, or your social security numbers. Never share this information. Accounts can be created by scammers, identities stolen, and accounts accessed.
  • Fake emails warning account suspensions – Scammers will try to steal your passwords by stating your accounts are suspended, thus fishing for the account holders to enter their passwords on a fake webpage. Vendors of payment apps will never ask you for a password unless you are on their official login page.

To learn more about protecting yourself from online ticket scams visit: 

Online Ticket Purchasing (michigan.gov)

Payment Apps and Scams (michigan.gov)