KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Every year KSHB 41 News tells you about ticket scams and how to avoid them, especially for an expensive, high-stakes game like the AFC Championship.
But it still happens, so we spoke to the Better Businesses Bureau (BBB) about how to make sure you don't get duped.
For the last three years, Chiefs fans have braved the cold and waited in line to buy their tickets to the AFC Championship game.
This year, ticket sales are online and mobile only.
The BBB said digital ticket sales actually makes it easier for scammers to trick you.
So, how does this usually happen?
"If you are contacted by an individual directly, no company, no company name, they don't give you anything like that," Nikolas Reese, operations manager at the BBB said. "They're just offering to sell you their ticket saying they must can't go, something like that. They'll send it to you through email. More often than not, it will look fairly legitimate, so some of the red flags are harder to spot especially with digital ticket sales."
Reese weighed in on a reliable way to feel good about your purchase.
"Know who exactly it is that you're buying it from," Reese said. "Usually we would say to try to avoid buying it from an individual person. Try to go through a ticket broker and the venue itself."
The Chiefs website takes you directly to Ticketmaster, so this is a trusted source. After all, if you're going to pay thousands of dollars for one ticket, you need to be 100% sure.
Like the last three years, tickets are selling anywhere from $500 to $6,000.
"Unless you're buying it directly from the venue, you know it's from the venue, just check the source for pretty much all of them," Reese said.
One way to do this is to go to the National Association of Ticket Brokers. You can check if the company you're about to buy from comes up on their website.
And lastly, try to always use a credit card. Someone asking you to pay cash or a money wire transfer should automatically be a red flag.
"If it's with a debit card, cash, wire transfer, it's still very unlikely you can get it back, so that's why we highly recommend paying with a credit card, something with a bit more security," Reese said.
If you're not sure about the person or the company you're about to buy your ticket from, you can always call the BBB and they can help you out.
