Greensboro woman turns to 5 On Your Side after losing $1,000 to Stanley Cup ticket scam :: WRAL.com
For years, Greensboro resident Rebecca Cornwell has made the
hour-and-15-minute drive to Raleigh to cheer on the Carolina Hurricanes. During
the regular season, she attends games whenever she can. During the playoffs,
she’s made it a point to see at least one game in every round.
When the Hurricanes clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup
Final, Cornwell hoped to continue that tradition by attending Game 1 at Lenovo
Center.
Like thousands of other fans, she logged on over the weekend
and joined the online queue for tickets.
“I was about 7,000th in line,” Cornwell told WRAL
News. “By the time I got in, there were very few tickets left, and the
seats that were available were at least $650.”
Unwilling to spend that much money, Cornwell decided not to
buy.
Almost immediately, she began second-guessing that decision.
When she checked resale sites, she found prices had climbed
even higher.
“Everything I saw on the resale market was at least
$1,000,” she said.
The Facebook group that seemed legitimate
Determined to find a more affordable option, Cornwell turned
to a Facebook group called “Carolina Hurricanes Verified Tickets
Exchange.”
The group appeared legitimate. With more than 10,000
members, it even featured posts offering advice on how fans could avoid being
scammed while purchasing tickets.
Cornwell says she connected with the group’s administrator,
Sandy Stamper, who told her a “verified seller” was offering two
tickets to Game 1 for $500 each.
Promises, delays and disappearing accounts
According to Cornwell, Stamper explained that she would act
as a middleman. Cornwell would send the money to Stamper, who would then obtain
the tickets from the seller through Ticketmaster. Once the tickets were
transferred, Stamper would send them to Cornwell and forward the payment to the
seller.
At 11:37 a.m. Sunday, Cornwell sent $1,000.
She expected the tickets to arrive shortly afterward.
Instead, hours passed.
Around 2 p.m., Cornwell messaged Stamper, telling her she
was growing concerned.
Cornwell says Stamper blamed the delay on the seller and
reassured her that the tickets would arrive soon.
They never did.
The following day, Cornwell says Stamper’s Facebook account
had disappeared.
A trail of complaints
The Facebook group remains active but now appears to be
operated by a different administrator.
As she searched online for answers, Cornwell says she
discovered numerous complaints involving Stamper and alleged ticket scams. In
one case, a person reported losing $3,600.
Now out $1,000 and without tickets, Cornwell says she’s
sharing her story in hopes of preventing other Hurricanes fans from becoming
victims.
Warning other Hurricanes fans
“If speaking out keeps someone else from losing money,
it’s worth it,” she said.
Cornwell has filed complaints with the Better Business
Bureau, Facebook and the North Carolina Department of Justice.
WRAL has reached out to Stamper for comment and is awaiting
a response.
Consumer advice from the BBB on how toa void ticket scams:
· Avoid
Scammers. A large portion of ticket scams come from social media
resellers. These can be individuals leaving comments on posts, online
marketplace sellers or people sharing fraudulent tickets to their personal
feed. A big tell tale sign of this scam is a screenshotted ticket. Actual live
tickets (which have constantly changing barcodes or qr codes) will be accepted
at the games and are able to be directly downloaded to your mobile device.
· Buy
from reputable vendors. Both teams are operating their ticket sales
through their team
websites linked to Ticketmaster. You may also find tickets through
the arenas hosting each game. When going through a secondary seller, only buy
from vendors you know and trust. Look for the lock symbol in the web address to
indicate a secure purchasing system. Don’t click through from emails or online
ads; a common ticket scam trick is to create
a web address that is similar to a well-known company. Check to see if
they are a member of the National
Association of Ticket Brokers. NATB members offer a 200% purchase
guarantee on tickets. Look up the seller on VerifiedTicketSource.com to
confirm you are buying from a NATB-member resale company.
· Research
the seller. If you decide to purchase from a third party seller, evaluate their
website; look for any design or grammatical errors on the page or domain. See
if the seller is an accredited business on bbb.org or
if the BBB’s seal is on their site. Check if
they are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers where tickets
come with a guarantee.
· Look
over policies. Find out how the company prevents fraud and how they
may help if it occurs. Gain understanding of how ticket transfers and returns
work.
· Call
customer service. Before you go to the event, call the venue to check
if your ticket is valid.
