Law enforcement, others remind Lehigh Valley consumers to watch out for possible Super Bowl-related frauds

The Big Game can also mean the Big Ripoff.

It happened before Super Bowl LVII to one Lehigh Valley resident, who was cheated out of tickets to Sunday’s Philadelphia Eagles-San Francisco 49ers NFC title game.

The unidentified man from Lower Macungie Township told state police at Fogelsville he paid $350 in cash through Facebook Messenger for tickets to the game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. He received no tickets, and the seller deleted the Facebook account, police said.

“This is the only open case we’re aware of at this point,” state police spokesperson Trooper Nathan Branosky said. “As far as we know, it’s not a huge issue.”

But as the Super Bowl draws closer to its Feb. 12 kickoff, police and others in law enforcement expect there will be an uptick in fraud, particularly among unsuspecting consumers trying to snatch last-minute tickets for the big game.

Branosky’s advice: Use common sense. Buy tickets through legitimate sources.

“Any kind of typos or grammatical errors [with online pitches], that’s a concern,” Branosky said. “If someone approaches you on instant messaging, that’s usually a scam. You want to verify the source of how you’re buying the tickets.”

The Morning Call asked the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office, which enforces the state’s consumer law, for advice on avoiding scams. Its press office replied with a news release from 2018 —  the last time the Eagles played in the Super Bowl.

A half-decade later, while many of the Eagles players have changed (with the notable exception of Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox), the tips remain the same, according to the attorney general’s office. They include:

Watch the websites you visit. As a consumer, you should not click on banner ads or pop-ups on a legitimate website (like StubHub or Ticketmaster) that may take you to a different website. You lose all protections and guarantees once you leave a legitimate website in favor of discounted tickets or other promises somewhere else.

Be cautious of using search engines to find potential ticket sellers. Less reputable websites offering ticket sales will ramp up advertising before events like the Super Bowl, increasing their website traffic. Stick to websites you are familiar with, and read the URL of the website you visit. Scam artists often make minor changes to an actual website’s URL to bring a false sense of legitimacy to the website — a practice known as spoofing. Look for spelling or grammatical mistakes, which is a tip-off to fake websites.

Avoid buying tickets from someone you have not met. Always try to conduct any ticket purchase in a safe, well-lighted area. Consumers can also search online for safe transaction locations. Some area police stations provide an environment for safe transactions.

Be wary of sellers asking for payment in gift cards, money orders or money transfers, especially over the phone. Consumers should use their credit cards when possible to protect themselves from scammers and fraud. Residents who think they have been victims of a Super Bowl ticket, travel service or merchandise scam can file a complaint with the attorney general’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at 800-441-2555, or email scams@attorneygeneral.gov.

Also beware of suspicious advertisements televised during the game, according to AARP and others. Several cryptocurrency companies featured commercials during the 2022 game with one, Coinbase, airing a spot showing a QR code that brought users to a link that appeared to crash shortly after.

Fraud involving crypto investment schemes and crypto as payment in other schemes skyrocketed in 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission, with reported losses exceeding $1 billion.

AARP advises people to report any scam to local law enforcement. For more information from AARP, go to aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork or call 877-908-3360.

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