VBC says scams targeting ticket seekers increasing, explains how to avoid them

With entertainment venues getting back to scheduling events, the Von Braun Center in Huntsville is reminding people of some recent scams. The multi-purpose indoor arena, meeting, dining and performing arts complex, issued an advisory detailing a few scams that have increased in occurrence.

“We see these tactics not just on the VBC page, but for all business accounts including Mars Music Hall and Rhythm on Monroe,” a post on the VBC’s Facebook page stated. It continued to explain how the scam work:

“1. Fake VBC Facebook account:

Unfortunately, there are fake VBC pages direct messaging people on Facebook saying they have won tickets and includes a link for the person to follow. Note – We will never send you a message telling you you have won something. We alert our winners by reacting to their original comment on our post, then we publicly reply to the original comment telling the person he/she has won and request them to message our page directly to find out how to claim the prize. We also post the date the contest ends on the contest announcement and will not pick a winner before that date occurs.

Another indicator the page is fake – all of the pictures and posts are dated on the same day (our real VBC page has posts dating back to around 2007).

If you see a page posing as the VBC, please report it to Facebook as a fake account.

2. Ticket seller scams:

The amount of scam accounts trying to “resale” tickets has increased to an alarming number and our own VBC Event Pages are hotbeds. To combat this and try to protect our followers, we set each of our FB Event Pages to only allow public comments if we have approved them. This helped for a while, then scammers started commenting on approved posts our followers had made. These scam posts usually include a quick note about how they unfortunately can’t attend the upcoming event anymore and if anyone wants their tickets to direct message them. Our Marketing Department continuously monitors each Event Page and immediately deletes resale comments, but the increased scams have gotten so bad, that overnight, a Facebook Event Page may receive 60+ scam comments. Be aware and do your research before purchasing any tickets from a third party seller. Additionally, if you see a comment that looks like a scam – alert us and we will delete immediately.

3. Fake Facebook event pages:

There is an alarming increase in fake Facebook Event Pages. These fake events claim to be hosted at the Von Braun Center. In the past, these fake events were few and far between, but with so many shows being cancelled or rescheduled over the past year, scammers have seen the confusion as an opportunity to try and take advantage of people. These fake event pages sometimes say they are Livestreaming previously cancelled shows. If you are ever in doubt of the legitimacy of an event you can always do a few things: Visit vonbrauncenter.com to make sure the event is listed on our website; Call our direct line M-F 8a-5p – the phone number is listed on our website; or Go directly to our Facebook page and click on the Events tab.

There are likely additional scam opportunities that aren’t outlined here, but for the moment these three tactics are becoming more prevalent.”