GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is reminding sports fans to protect themselves against scammers as the football season begins.
Football fans have reported their season tickets being stolen by scammers. These scammers access a season ticket holder's account and fraudulently transfer the tickets to another account.
According to the DATCP, season ticket theft is not common, but it can happen. Here are some ways to prevent the risk of ticket theft:
- Keeping passwords private.
- Recognizing phishing scams. Be careful with urgent requests, unprompted solicitations to "update" or "confirm" an account, or poor spelling and grammar. Do not respond, click links, open attachments or use contact information in unverified or unsolicited emails or texts messages.
- Using unique passwords. Use different password for each account.
- Setting up multi-factor authentication. Accounts are more secure when using two layers of authentication, usually in form of a text message, phone call or email that provides a verification code in order to access the account.
The DATCP says that if a season ticket holder believes their tickets have been stolen by a scammer, they should:
- Contact the original ticket seller from whom they purchased the tickets immediately using verified contact information.
- File a consumer complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
- Change account passwords, especially if the compromised password is also used for other accounts.
For more information and consumer protection resources or to file a complaint, visit DATCP's Consumer Protection webpage at ConsumerProtection.wi.gov or contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 422-7128 or DATCPHotline@wisconsin.gov.
