Michigan AG reissues ticket scam warning as Pistons begin second round of playoffs
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is renewing a consumer warning about ticket scams as the Detroit Pistons prepare to host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA playoffs Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.
"After a thrilling first round, Pistons fans shouldn't let their excitement be exploited by bad actors," Nessel said. "Do your research before purchasing and use reputable websites to ensure your tickets are legitimate."
Bad actors have several ways to scam ticket-buyers and ticket-sellers out of their money, the attorney general's office said. Two of those ways involve payment or money app scams and fake check scams.
Scammers impersonating your bank may call to alert you about "suspicious activity" on your account and direct you to send money to yourself or "the bank's address" to reverse a transaction or to verify the account is not frozen.
However, Nessel said, your bank will never tell you to send money to anyone, not even yourself.
Fraudsters might also claim to represent a fraud department or merchant and ask you to confirm information such as a bank account username and password, credit card or debit card data, or Social Security numbers. Do not share this information — scammers want to create a P2P account with your information, steal your identity, and gain access to your accounts.
If you try to sell legitimate tickets online, scammers might use the fake check scam to steal your money.
A potential buyer makes an offer and sends a check — perhaps even a cashier's check — for considerably more than the cost of the tickets and pretends it's an error. They ask the seller to deposit the check and refund them the difference.
But the check turns out to be a counterfeit, and the seller is scammed out of their money, plus any other funds from the fake check, as well as bank fees.
The Pistons will host the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit as the second round of playoffs begins.
