ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – Ticket buyers beware. Scam artists are in St. Louis. One group of Taylor Swift fans was even duped twice in one night.
April Newell and Amy DeSalme wanted to take their daughters to the concert, but tickets were scarce. They found a seller on Craigslist. He told them once he received payment through an online service, the tickets would be available.
“He was going to transfer the tickets to my name and I would get an email immediately,” said DeSalme. She said the email never arrived. She then became even more determined to find tickets for her daughter and her friend’s daughter.
“After we got their hopes up, we couldn’t let them down,” said DeSalme.
The group found a ticket scalper downtown and began negotiations.
“They went back and forth with each other, made us feel like we were getting really a bargain,” said DeSalme.
Those tickets turned out to be fake.
“The tears came,” said DeSalme.
The group turned to St. Louis Metropolitan Police for help, but the fraudsters were long gone. Police say tickets can be re-sold but buyers should beware. Police suggest dealing with authorized ticket agents.
Newell says legitimate ticket brokers offered her a few suggestions.
“Take the scalper with you and if he’s not willing to go the door, don’t buy the ticket,” said Newell. “If he’s not willing to let you take his picture, don’t buy the ticket.”
Newell believes if she would have asked police around the Scottrade Center which ticket sellers were legitimate, they would have directed her to the right people.