MADISON (WKOW) — College football season is almost here, and some students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who don’t have tickets yet are scrambling and getting scammed in the process.
Marc Lovicott, Executive Director of Communications for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department (UWPD), said people oftentimes worry when they don’t get their hands on season tickets.
“People are panicking right now because they don’t have Badger football tickets. If you wait until a day or two before game day, people are going to sell their tickets because they can’t make the game, so just be patient,” Lovicott said. “You’ll get into Camp Randall.”
But, UW-Madison senior Sammie Johnson said having tickets is a priority and getting them early is “worth the comfort.”
“That’s such a huge part of the Wisconsin experience and especially going into your last year. I’m never going to be in the student section again as a student. So yeah, it was priority for me to try to get them,” Johnson said.
In the process of finding tickets, Johnson said she was scammed.
“It’s pretty embarrassing getting scammed because I consider myself pretty cautious and careful. I didn’t know, that’s just really frustrating,” she said.
But, she shared that she isn’t the only one who has dealt with scammers before.
“I’ve seen a lot of people get scammed. There’s a whole list of names one of the admins posted that are for sure scammers. It’s so many names,” Johnson said.
Buying and selling tickets online is not a new thing. Lovicott said it’s been an issue for many years.
“We don’t have a paper ticket in our hand anymore. It’s all done online through an app or your phone. So, that’s made it more difficult for consumers but easier for scammers to try and take advantage of people,” he said.
Tips in detecting fake posts and accounts
He shared tips in detecting fake posts and accounts:
Check the profile and see where the person is from. If they aren’t from around the area, he said to be cautious.
Check who the person is friends with online. He said if they have mutual friends, it may be a sign the seller is legit. But if the account has no mutual friends, or friends at all, he said it’s most likely a scam.
Look out for grammar and spelling mistakes. Lovicott said “a lot of these scams originate from other countries in which English is not their primary language. That’s a that’s a dead giveaway that this person isn’t from around here, and they want your money.”
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