Buying Dodgers-Yankees World Series tickets? Here's how to avoid getting scammed
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- If you want to see a World Series game between the Dodgers and Yankees in person, it's going to cost you - and you'll likely be looking for tickets on the secondary market.
Here's an example: a ticket behind the Dodgers' dugout is going for more than $80,000. As you might imagine, tickets are very scarce.
"We don't have a lot of tickets anymore," says Barry Rudin from Barry's Tickets, an online ticket provider.
He adds that when this happens, you can expect scammers to try to take advantage.
"You don't want to go on Craigslist. If you're finding a deal that's too good to be true, it's too good to be true," Rudin said.
Rudin said there's a few things to look out for:
- Prices that are too low
- Buy only from trusted vendors
- Use only secure payment methods. Do not pay for tickets with cash or transfers
Some sellers might want you to send payment as friends and family to avoid a fee, but that doesn't offer any protections for you as the buyer.
"Unless you know them, do it in a protective way," Rudin said. "But when you're buying them from a broker, you could pay it with - I mean we mostly want a credit card or a check - but you can Venmo us and you can PayPal us.
"So it's not so much that PayPal or Venmo aren't good. You just have to know who you're buying them from."
And when you get your tickets, you have to be careful. That's because the tickets have to be on the MLB app which has a special dynamic moving barcode.
"You also have to make sure you download the tickets to the Major League Baseball app because a photocopy will not get you into the building," Rudin said. "When you buy a ticket from us, for example, we transfer them through the Dodger app to you and then you get the official barcode. There's only one way, and it's very legitimate to do."
Scammers might even create fake websites that appear legitimate to sell tickets. So always check that as well before you send any credit card information.
