A Toronto man says he was scammed out of thousands of dollars after buying tickets for this year’s NBA All-Star Game.
“Ever since I was young, one of my dreams was to attend the All-Star Game” said Rohit Khona. “I wanted to take my son to the game.”
Khona found tickets on Kijiji and contacted the seller. Khona said he had bought tickets and made sure to verify the seller’s identity and that he received proof of payment.
He paid $2,000 for the tickets by e-transfer, but never heard back from the seller.
That’s when he discovered the seller was using a stolen identity. The bank said it couldn’t track the money transfer for privacy reasons.
Khona sent out an online warning about the scam and found several other victims.
Some fans may only find out they have fake tickets when trying to get into the game on Sunday.
According to Forbes Magazine, the average ticket price for the All-Star game is now $3,000.
Some fans are still scrambling to find tickets, but buyers beware of scammers selling fake tickets online.
Here are some things you can do to protect yourself:
- Don’t wire or e-transfer funds
- Remember that E-tickets can be easily reproduced
- Meet the seller at the venue to verify the tickets
- If in doubt, take a photo of the ticket seller
With a Consumer Alert from Pat Foran
