March Madness in Indiana is about more than just basketball, it’s about loyalty to your favorite players and coming together as a community to rally for your team. When Indianapolis plays host to the NCAA Final Four tournament on April 3 and 5, team spirit will reach new heights as thousands of basketball fans from around the country arrive for the games. Unfortunately, scammers have identified these types of events as a good opportunity to exploit the loyalty fans have for their teams.
The most common scams associated with large sporting events are the sale of counterfeit tickets and merchandise. Last year, basketball fans in Detroit had to learn the hard way when they bought fake tickets for the Final Four games. Be sure this doesn’t happen to you — buy from reputable sources and know what to look for on the ticket.
Scalping is not illegal in Indiana, but buyer beware is an understatement. Final Four tickets have a unique security mark that can’t be reproduced. The best way to avoid disappointment at the door is to buy tickets from the NCAA in the annual drawing, ticket offices of colleges and universities that participate in the tournament, host colleges/universities or athletic conferences, and the NCAA’s sanctioned ticket and hospitality providers Primesport and RazorGator.
While there is no state law against scalping, a Marion County ordinance caps the resale price of scalped tickets at $10 above the face value. The NCAA keeps records of who originally purchased tickets and can check the tickets sold by scalpers and ban the original purchaser from buying tickets in the future.
Of course, fans want to sport their pride by buying authentic team jerseys, hats and other apparel. This poses yet another opportunity for thieves to scam you out of your money with shoddy, knock-off merchandise. Official NCAA merchandise can be identified two ways — the hologram on the package and a tag with a hologram on the merchandise that says “Officially Licensed Product of the NCAA.” Another way to ensure you are purchasing official NCAA gear is to ask to see the city permit that allows a vendor to sell merchandise during an event. If they can’t produce a permit, walk away.
If you believe you’ve been scammed, you can file a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division online at www.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 1-800-382-5516.
Greg Zoeller is Indiana attorney general.
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Greg Zoeller: Enjoy the games, avoid the scams
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