Ticket Scam Resource Center - Glossary

The point of a con is to gain the trust (confidence) of a mark in a situation in which trust is not automatic. There's a reason that trust is not automatic; it's a situation where a dishonest grifter has the advantage. Even though the mark doesn't expect a con, the mark knows, at least subconsciously, that there is no automatic trust. Certainly, there are insider cons, in which a trusted associate turns bad. We hear about respected financial advisors who sell bad investments, but this often happens after years of legitimate service. A victim should not feel foolish when cheated by legitimately trusted friends. But usually with cons, strangers are involved and there is no initial trust. Average citizens should remember that they don't owe trust to strangers. When a stranger wants something from you, especially large sums of money, you are not being bad when you withhold trust, even when the stranger claims to have hurt feelings.

A con can take many forms. A con may take place over days or months, or it may be over with in seconds. The quicker cons are referred to as short cons. This web site is concerned with ticket scams, and these are not always short cons. You buy a counterfeit ticket from a scalper on a street, and the scam is complete. Or maybe, you participate in an online auction over a period of days.

Ticket scams can be inside jobs. Perhaps a co-worker sells you a "great" ticket to a concert, and you find out later that the seat is not so great. The seller claims ignorance or good faith, i.e., maybe the seller really thought that the seat was a good seat. Maybe the seller was conned by another, original ticket holder. More commonly, ticket scams, and cons in general, are perpetrated by strangers who are never seen again.

A con starts with the approach. Con artists may approach victims, or they may set themselves up in places where victims can approach them. For example, a scalper may advertise tickets for sale in a newspaper, or may wait on a street corner for potential buyers. If you are approached by a stranger with something you just can't live without, you should wonder how you've lived without it up to now. If you feel yourself drawn to an unexpected offer, you should wonder why you didn't want the thing in the first place. Of course, it's no surprise to be approached by strangers outside concert arenas.

Con artists may profile their victims. Middle aged men are generally more street smart (and avoided by con artists) than giggly teen fans outside a concert arena. The elderly are generally more susceptible to sympathetic approaches, and are simply not as quick witted as they once might have been.

If you are asked for money without a quick and full completion of the deal, you should be suspicious. For example, if you are asked for earnest money to show your own good faith, you should wonder what guarantee you have of the other's good faith. You were minding your own business when a stranger offered free stuff, but then wants YOU to pay for your own good faith?

Let's say you find an offer that sounds interesting, but what starts out as a small and simple transaction suddenly grows in price and complexity. Additional products suddenly appear - buy twelve for the price of ten! Another buyer appears and bids against you. A passerby, possibly a lawyer or other respected person, appears to confirm the great deal that you'll get if you just fork over the money. The seller rattles off stories of other satisfied customers, and a satisfied customer might even appear to confirm the stories. Distractions occur, such as noises or other people. Just when it looks bad to you, the stranger gives something up, maybe a few dollars, to suck you back in.

Consider your level of trust. In an established business place, such as a restaurant, the products and prices are laid out. There isn't much room for confusion. You pay a couple bucks, you get a burger and a drink, and if the food is cold, you complain. You trust the sellers because they work under a known identity, such as a restaurant name. But on the street, with products you never knew you wanted, the scalper you never met must acquire your trust on the fly. When you have doubts, your attention is distracted to other things, and you are encouraged to seal the deal before it's "too late". When is it ever too late to buy that burger? Well, never; if you don't buy the burger today, they'll make one for you tomorrow. But if your new best friend scalper can't promise you the same deal after five minutes, what does that say about your friendship?

If the seller's eyes are on the lookout for anything other than you, be wary. Maybe the seller is worried about the police, or is signaling to others to create a distraction.

At auctions, including eBay, the notion of a shill is of great concern. A seller (or an associate of the seller) may bid against legitimate buyers to drive up the sale price. This is risky, as the seller may inadvertently win the auction, but the item can always be resold. Have no doubt that this is a problem at online auctions, although shill bidders are occasionally caught. For the most part, all the auction service can do is ban the shill. Many traditional short cons utilize shills who are accomplices to the main perpetrators.