Buyer Beware: Illinois BBB Warns Of Ongoing Concert Tickets Scam

Concert goers and baseball fans are fired up and ready to get into a summer of touring musical acts and exciting games (Cubs and Sox fans hope so, anyway), and tickets for many of those shows and games are up for sale.

When you look at the summer concert schedule, you can see that some huge acts are out on tour in 2025. Here are a few:

• Jonas Brothers
• Post Malone
• Beyoncé
• Billie Eilish
• Kendrick Lamar and SZA
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Coldplay
• Katy Perry
• Shakira
• Paul Simon
• Ed Sheeran
• Lollapalooza
• Ravinia
• Riot Fest

Shows that have this kind of high-demand bring out the fans, but they also bring out the scammers who are eager to exploit your desire for a good seat at a concert or ballgame.

To Quote The Rockford Regional Office Of The Better Business Bureau (BBB): Scammers Are Out In Force To Put The "Con" In Concert Tickets

Lollapalooza's 4-day tickets sold out in just one hour, and online platforms are already flooded with tickets for sale.

Dennis Horton, Director of the Rockford BBB:

The high demand sets the perfect stage for scammers to use fake websites, scam emails, and ads on social media to steal your money and identity. In the rush to get tickets, fans could be caught off guard. Fraudsters hope you'll be too busy to check that a website is real. Watch out for ticket sellers with plenty of 'tickets' for sale.

The BBB has received hundreds of complaints on BBB Scam Tracker about ticket scams related to concerts, theatre, and sporting events. Hundreds more complaints were received from customers buying shoddy, counterfeit merchandise sold as official apparel.

Getting Scammed On Concert Tickets Or Seats At A Cubs Game Would Really Suck, Especially When You Look At How Much Those Tickets Cost Today

So don't let it happen to you. Here's what the BBB suggests for keeping yourself safe from ticket scammers:

• To reduce the risk of scams, always search ratings and reviews on BBB.org before you buy. Check out the seller/broker to learn what other customers have experienced.
• Buy tickets at the box office or from the venue’s official site, but be careful, as imitation sites often appear first in internet searches.
• Only deal with secure websites. These will begin with “HTTPS” and have a “lock” symbol on the address bar.
• Fake websites will offer low-price tickets to trick people into entering their credit card info. Scammers can then use your credit card to purchase big-ticket items. And you never receive your ticket.
• Use extra caution buying tickets sold on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or other free online listings. Scammers are skilled at providing realistic-looking tickets and fake receipts.
• Counterfeit tickets with forged barcodes look very professional, with a copy-and-paste logo of the actual ticket company. However, you will be denied access when you arrive at the concert, and the scammer will be long gone.
• Be aware that Fraudsters will copy and paste an actual ticket and then “sell” it to many purchasers, all of whom are surprised at the gate when they learn the ticket is not valid.
• Use payment methods that come with protection. Always use a credit card, so you have some recourse if the tickets are not as promised. Debit cards, wire transfers, or cash transactions are money lost if the tickets are fraudulent.