Tickets - Who Needs Counterfeit Tickets?
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by Dominator528
College football season is just around the corner. Everyone is working out their schedules to make sure that they are off work and ready to go on campus for their school’s big games. Many are devout alumni with season tickets in hand while others just love the passion that a particular school fuels within them and they get their tickets when they can. No matter which group you may fall college football season is nothing but another television experience unless you get that ticket. The school’s ticket office is the only place to get a guaranteed seat for the game; but we all know where our spots are and who are contacts will be to assist us in getting admission to the show. For those that use the game day ticket vendor – BE CAREFULL.
DISCLAIMER: This is not an expose’ on the life and times of a scalper and how they alone tear down the fabric of our society. The scalper (or as I think they would be called – ticket broker) is a business person who performs a needed service and beyond the reaches of most college campuses (who out law them like members of the Taliban) they hold a level of respect in my book and I have no quarrels with them. So this is not penned in their direction – but rather a warning against the ticket counterfeiter and the organized criminal element that feeds on the passion and dreams of many fans to find that great deal that will allow them to enter the big game without mortgaging their house.
The ticket counterfeiters have been an organized and profitable force on many college campuses during college football games for many years and this article alone will not be their demise. If one thing is taken from this writing I hope it will be the caution that should come with buying tickets on game day from the streets surrounding college campuses. Organized groups of law enforcement have been organizing themselves the past years and developing very beneficial actions against said counterfeiters and some tips have been learned to help the cautious consumer. Some are common sense and some may be new keys to success:
•1. Many active ticket counterfeiters approach the victim after they have just stepped away from a conversation with another ticket broker. They look for the buyer and try not to bring attention to themselves by holding up fingers or yelling their sale.
•2. The ticket counterfeits rarely hold the tickets they are going to sell you – usually they will have to summon their “guy” after a price is negotiated or they will ask you to wait there and they will retrieve the tickets from their “partner”.
•3. There have been MANY successful cases that have lead to felony convictions thanks to 1 thing – cell phone cameras. Ask your ticket seller for a picture prior to completing the transaction – if they refuse hmmmm. When they walk away take a picture anyway and email it to the ticket office or campus police later. If you find that you have purchased a counterfeit ticket file a police report and turn over a copy of the picture as evidence.
•4. If you try to buy tickets from brokers – the tickets will be relatively close in price. If you suddenly find someone selling for WAY under the other brokers - you may want to ask why they want to get rid of the tickets so fast. Many involved in the organized groups will vegetate closer to campus closer to kick off.
Ultimately the warning is there – be careful and be aware. If you encounter counterfeit dealers and you have pictures of those involved – please contact me – even if local law enforcement seem disinterested. I have been working a few years with the NFL and college football campuses to keep detailed records of these organized crime rings. The information gathered is shared on a weekly basis and has led to several felony arrests and convictions last year at several college campuses , NFL venues and also at the Super Bowl. There are several organized groups and they travel from week to week the key to helping the everyday fan is for us, as law enforcement, to work together. Anyone with information about counterfeiters activities or questions – feel free to contact me via archairgm.com.
