Start at the official source
Every event has an organizer, and the organizer's official website or the venue's website links to the authorized ticket seller. Get to that site by typing the address yourself or through the organizer's verified social media accounts. Search ads and look-alike sites sometimes copy the design of a real seller.
- Check the web address carefully before you enter payment details.
- Sign up for official newsletters to hear about on-sale dates and any presale codes.
- Read the ticket terms: transfer rules, refund policy, and whether the name on the ticket must match your ID.
How resale works
When a show sells out, fans turn to resale. The lower-risk options are the official seller's own resale or fan-to-fan exchange, and marketplaces the organizer recognizes. These usually transfer the ticket to your account, which makes a fake much harder to pass off.
Rules on resale differ by state and country. Some places cap resale prices or require the original price to be shown. Some events allow transfer only through the official app. Check the event's ticket terms before you buy from anyone other than the official seller.
Warning signs of a ticket scam
- A seller you met on social media or in a comment thread
- Pressure to pay right away before someone else does
- Requests for payment by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or a payment app sent to a stranger
- A screenshot or photo of a ticket instead of a transfer to your account
- A ticket for a show that has not gone on sale yet
- A web address that is slightly off from the official one
If a deal seems much better than anything on the official resale market, treat it with extra care. Real tickets for popular shows rarely sell far below face value.
Pay in a way you can dispute
In the United States, credit cards usually give you a way to dispute a charge if tickets never arrive or turn out to be fake. Payment methods such as wire transfers and gift cards are much harder to reverse. Check with your card issuer about how disputes work for your card.
Mobile tickets
Many events now use mobile tickets with codes that refresh on screen, so a screenshot often won't scan at the gate. Add the ticket to your phone's wallet or the official app a few days before the show, and make sure you can open it without signal, since venue networks get crowded. Keep your phone charged and carry a backup battery.
Don't post your ticket online. A photo of a barcode or QR code can let someone copy the ticket and use it before you arrive.
If you think you were scammed
- Contact your bank or card issuer right away to report the charge.
- Report the seller to the platform where you found them.
- Contact the official ticket seller to check whether the ticket is valid.
- In the US, report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission and your state attorney general. Elsewhere, use your national consumer protection agency.
Is a paper ticket safer than a mobile one?
Not by itself. A paper ticket can be copied as easily as a screenshot. What matters is where the ticket comes from and whether it can be transferred to you through the official system.