Super Bowl Scams Come Out Of The Woodwork
Be on the lookout if you are trying to buy tickets to Colts-Saints game. Scammers love to take advantage of the fans. Travel scams in all types of shapes and sizes come out of the woodwork whenever there is a landmark sporting event.
Last year there was an email sent out in Pennsylvania attempting to trick Steelers fans. Saying that they are in charge of the Visa Super Bowl Winning Contest, with an NFL logo on top, scammers promised $100,000 to fans and two Super Bowl Tickets. Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is. The catch was that in order to retrieve their prize the fan had to wire the email senders $3,000 to cover taxes.
Already, there are emails being pumped through the internet about the upcoming World Cup. One promises three free tickets and two million dollars. Despite the fact that there are spelling errors throughout and a shoddy cut and paste job with the World Cup Logo, there are bound to be a number of victims.
Another scheme to be wary of is the postcard scam. These postcards promise packages similar to the ones just mentioned, on “travel certificates.” One thing to keep in mind is that criminal scam companies are able to cut and paste logos or art that they want to use, lending a false sense of authenticity to whatever is being sent out.
One last scheme. There are travel “certificates” that allege that you’ve won a trip to the Super Bowl and an wonderful Super Bowl package, complete with hotel room. Yet the hotel you get sent to is a dump, and you have to book your airline tickets through the “contest office,” and these tickets are way more expensive than you could get on your own. And the kicker is, once you have arrived at the dump of a hotel, you find out that the package never included tickets to the game.
Mallory Megan works for a collection agencies agency. She also writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and debt collection.
