Just one day after ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson warned Carolina Hurricanes fans about ticket scams ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals, viewers began reaching out, saying they had already lost money trying to buy tickets online.
Rebecca Cornwell says she is a huge Carolina Hockey fan, “I’ve been to one game every round of the playoffs, and we were all devastated when we couldn’t afford, you know, tickets to the finals.”
Cornwell, who regularly attends games with friends and members of her community group, said she began searching for tickets within her budget of $500 per seat on Hurricanes Resale Facebook groups. “I found, you know, a Facebook page that I thought was reputable,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell says the Facebook group appeared trustworthy because the page administrator frequently posted warnings about scams and encouraged members to verify purchases through the group’s admin team.
“They even went so far as to post others of, oh, this is a scam, don’t reach out to them at all. Like, please protect yourself. Reach out to us directly, and they gave the phone number. So that’s what I did because I’m like, oh, they’re very trustworthy people, I respect that,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell texted the phone number listed in the group and began discussing tickets with someone she believed was an administrator. “I’m looking for these tickets. This is my maximum. Is there anyone willing to go that low? She said, ‘No, but let me reach out. Maybe she has another verified seller.’ and she said they could do $500, and like okay, great,” Cornwell said she was texted instructions on how it would work. “She said that first, the verified seller will transfer the tickets, and she will send me proof that the tickets had been transferred. Then once that happens, then I will send the money to the verified seller,” Cornwell adds.
Cornwell was texted a screenshot of the ticket, and she sent the $1,000 to whom the administrator told her to send it to. Cornwell adds, “When the seller confirms that they receive the money, then she will transfer the tickets to my Ticketmaster immediately.” Cornwell was told that the seller of the tickets got the money, but when it came time for Cornwell to get the tickets, she never got them. “So that blows any other shot I have of going to any of the playoff games,” Cornwell tells to ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson.
Cornwell has been waiting since Sunday for the tickets and never got them, and realized she was part of a scam. She adds, “Please be cognizant and probably don’t even trust the Facebook pages. It’s best to just go through Ticketmaster or come hang out with all of us, you know, at the watch parties in downtown Raleigh.”
ABC11 Troubleshooter also heard from another viewer who reported being scammed in the same Facebook resale group by the same person claiming to be an administrator. Wilson reached out to the phone number used in the transactions but did not receive a response. The Facebook profile associated with the alleged administrator has since been deleted.
Consumer advocates say Cornwell’s experience highlights one of the biggest warning signs of ticket fraud: screenshots. Legitimate tickets for Hurricanes playoff games are transferred electronically through Ticketmaster and contain live, constantly changing barcodes. Screenshots of tickets are not valid for entry and can be sent to multiple people.
With Stanley Cup Finals tickets selling for hundreds and even thousands of dollars, experts recommend using extreme caution when purchasing through social media, verifying sellers whenever possible and only paying through methods that offer fraud protection.
The safest option, they say, is to purchase directly from official ticket sellers or reputable resale platforms that provide buyer guarantees.
SEE ALSO | Real for fake? How to spot counterfeit Canes merch before you spend money