Concertgoers looking to score high-demand tickets should proceed with caution as a number of people have reported that the tickets they bought off Craigslist were fake.
Dakota Sal purchased two tickets to the Bruno Mars concert that was scheduled for May 30 at the Hollywood Bowl. She said she had purchased tickets off Craigslist "dozens of times" and had never had any issues – until she tried to get in to the venue and was told the tickets were fake.
"(I felt) anger, sadness, i was looking forward to this concert," Sal said.
Sal had paid $600 for two tickets. She met the seller at a 7-Eleven on the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Sawtelle Avenue in West LA. She said the seller even gave her a receipt.
"I thought, that was nice of him," Sal said.
Many NBC4 viewers reported that they had similar experiences when they tried to enter the Hollywood Bowl with what they thought were valid Bruno Mars concert tickets.
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"(We) went to the little ticket booth and then we got denied. It was so sad," Nadine Tracey said.
Tracey paid $500 to see Bruno Mars. The man who sold her the tickets even allowed her to take a photo of him with his driver’s license.
"He seemed a little nervous, a little sketchy," Tracey said. "I should have trusted my instinct."
According to the LAPD, these ticket scams are quite common. Despite the fact that many of these victims have reported the crimes, tracking down the person responsible has been compared to finding a needle in a haystack.
Ticketmaster advises that concertgoers only buy tickets from a primary source such as the venue or Ticketmaster, or an official resale marketplace, such as StubHub. The ticketing company urges buyers to not get tickets from a person on the street or people selling tickets on Craigslist.
