Photo: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty IMages
If you're looking to hit up a concert or two this summer, here are five ways to protect yourself from ticket scammers on social media . . .
1. Use PayPal Goods and Services to pay. It keeps your financial information secure, monitors the transaction, and offers dispute resolution and fraud prevention. You'll be eligible for a refund if you don't receive the tickets or if they're fake.
2. If the seller seeks you out, they're probably not legit. This is one of those "If it seems too good to be true, then it most likely is" things. If someone randomly messages you asking if you want to buy sold-out tickets, it's probably a scam.
3. Ask the seller to forward their original purchase confirmation. Someone who legitimately purchased tickets on Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, or Stubhub will be able to forward you a confirmation email. The email doesn't have the actual tickets, but includes the order information.
But keep in mind that emails and images can easily be manipulated and faked, so make sure they forward the original email, and the original sender is legitimately Ticketmaster or SeatGeek.
4. Do a search for the person's account name. Dig through their social media history, and search their account name on Twitter to see if people are complaining about them. Other fans may be warning people about buying from them.
5. Don't send any money until you've verified they're real tickets. It can be tempting to jump on an opportunity that seems like a good deal, but don't let anyone push you into sending payment too soon. And if they ask for some sort of down payment, it's usually a sign of a scam.
Getty Images