Facebook scammers try to prey on Razorback fans looking for Sweet 16 tickets

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Razorback men's basketball team will play UConn in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 round on Thursday and Arkansas fans plan to make trips to Las Vegas for the game.

Some fans utilize Facebook for ticket purchasing purposes, and fake accounts purporting to be legitimate sellers have started popping up.

The Better Business Bureau posted an article this year saying ticket scams have increased along with regular digital ticket sales.

"Last year, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) received over 140 reports on BBB Scam Tracker about ticket scams related to sporting events, concerts, theatre, and more," the article said.

The article shared tips about protecting oneself during the ticket buying process, including direct purchases from the venue when possible, purchasing from trusted vendors only and using payment methods that come with protection. Money transfer apps like Venmo can prove dangerous.

One legitimate post Monday from a person seeking tickets was spammed by scammers, all of whom created real-looking accounts with regular names. A deeper dig into each profile revealed characteristics often seen in fakes, including recent creation with stock images, few "friends" or posts and a series of responses to people looking for tickets.

Zac Land is a Razorback fan who is searching for tickets.

"I'm excited to go see Coach Muss and the boys," Land said. "Me and the guys kind of had this planned out, like let's do something for March Madness," Land said. "Let's figure something out. I said, 'Hey, look, it's my spring break so I could do this weekend.'"

Land already booked his hotel and flight and he said he's looking online for tickets and posting on Facebook to see if anyone has any connections. No scammers have commented yet, Land said, but he has seen them throughout the season.

"I saw that for the basketball games and I've seen people on there say, 'Stay away from these people for baseball tickets, too,'" Land said.

Land stated he plans to purchase tickets from legitimate sources if possible.

"I've been pretty cautious," Land said. "I'm just super excited to watch [the team] play hard and hopefully come home with two wins."

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