Better Business Bureau warns of rising online ticket scams. Here's what you need to know

WAYS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT. A CONCERT TICKET WARNING TONIGHT FROM THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU. THEY HOPE YOU’LL THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING ONLINE ON KMBC. NINE’S ANDY ALCOCK IS AT STARLIGHT THEATER, KEEPING YOU SAFE FROM POTENTIAL SCAMS. ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER JAMES TAYLOR IS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR HERE TOMORROW NIGHT. IT’S A TOUGH TICKET BECAUSE THE CONCERT IS A SELLOUT. MARY KEARNY IS GOING TO THE SHOW. SHE CAME TO THE STARLIGHT TICKET OFFICE TODAY. I ORDERED THE TICKET ON THE PHONE AND THEN THEY SAID I HAD TO GET ONLINE AND SHOW MY, UM, LIKE A BARCODE OR SOMETHING AS A GATE AND MY PHONE WON’T DO THAT BECAUSE I’M OLD. MARY WAS ABLE TO GET A PAPER TICKET. IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY FOR TOM AND MARY, WHO BOUGHT THEIR TICKETS ONLINE FROM A RESELLER. THEY DIDN’T WANT TO APPEAR ON CAMERA. MARY, AFTER SOME DIFFICULTY, WAS ABLE TO ACCESS HER TICKETS. TOM TODAY CAME TO THE STARLIGHT TICKET OFFICE FOR HELP TO GET HIS TICKETS, BUT HE WAS TURNED AWAY AND TOLD HE NEEDED TO CONTACT THE RESELLER. WITH THE ADVENT OF DIGITAL TICKETING, YOU HAVE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO SCAM UNSUSPECTING CONSUMERS OUT OF THEIR MONEY BECAUSE EVERY DIGITAL BARCODE ESSENTIALLY LOOKS THE EXACT SAME. THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU SAYS THESE KINDS OF SCAMS HAPPEN MORE OFTEN IN THE SUMMER MONTHS, BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING OUT TO EVENTS. IT’S NO LONGER POSSIBLE FOR MANY SHOWS, BUT MARY KEARNY HAS THE PEACE OF MIND OF A PAPER TICKET. ANYBODY OVER 50 IS GOING TO FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE THAT WAY. THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU RECOMMENDS BUYING TICKETS FROM THE EVENT SITE. SO DOES THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IN KANSAS CITY, ANDY ALCOCK KMBC NINE NEWS. THE STARLIGHT THEATER OPERATORS SAY IF YOU DON’T BUY TICKETS IN PERSON, THE BEST WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM IS BY PHONE. THE NUMBER IS RIGHT THERE ON YOUR SCREEN. YOU CAN ALSO BUY ONLINE AT KC STARLIGHT.COM. THERE ARE SOME BIG SHOWS ON THE WAY WITH SUMMER CONCERT SEASON IN FULL SWING. NOAH KAHN WILL BE AT THE AZURA AMPHITHEATER TOMORROW. THE SHOW STARTS AT 630. TICKETS START AT $300 A PIECE. THEN ON THURSDAY, EARTH, WIND AND FIRE JOINS LIONEL RICHIE AT THE T-MOBILE CENTER. TICKETS START AT $35 ON TICKETMASTER AND THEN FRIDAY, STEELE STEELE. MARLEY WILL BE AT POWER AND LIGHT DOORS. THEY’RE OPEN AT 6:00. THE CONCERT STARTS AT 8:00, AND

There's a new warning from the Better Business Bureau about online ticket scams."With the advent of digital ticketing, you have a lot of opportunities to scam unsuspecting consumers out of their money because every digital barcode essentially looks the exact same," said Joshua Planos, with the Better Business Bureau Midwest Plains. "And so it's really tough to tell until you get into, you know, kind of the door to really know whether you've bought an authentic ticket or something that is really a ploy to gain access to personal and payment information, which is what scammers are after." A woman named Laura contacted sister station KMBC after she had trouble accessing tickets to Wednesday night's James Taylor concert at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City.She bought the tickets from a reseller.A man named Tom bought tickets from the same reseller.He came to the Starlight ticket office on Tuesday trying to get help accessing his tickets.However, Tom was turned away and told he'd need to contact the reseller."Our top recommendation is to purchase from the venue whenever possible because you can avoid the vast majority of what is ultimately reported to us, which are folks either looking to create a huge payday via a markup or are not even offering a ticket in the first place. So we see this all the time with popular concert tickets," Planos said.Mary Carney also is going to the James Taylor concert.She came to the Starlight ticket office on Tuesday."I ordered the ticket on the phone, and then they said I had to get on line and show my barcode or something at a gate. And my phone won't do that because I'm old. So, they said, 'You know, we're accommodating. Come down here anytime and get your ticket.' So that's what I did," Carney said.She was able to get a paper ticket, which isn't always possible for many events now.

There's a new warning from the Better Business Bureau about online ticket scams.

"With the advent of digital ticketing, you have a lot of opportunities to scam unsuspecting consumers out of their money because every digital barcode essentially looks the exact same," said Joshua Planos, with the Better Business Bureau Midwest Plains. "And so it's really tough to tell until you get into, you know, kind of the door to really know whether you've bought an authentic ticket or something that is really a ploy to gain access to personal and payment information, which is what scammers are after."

A woman named Laura contacted sister station KMBC after she had trouble accessing tickets to Wednesday night's James Taylor concert at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City.

She bought the tickets from a reseller.

A man named Tom bought tickets from the same reseller.

He came to the Starlight ticket office on Tuesday trying to get help accessing his tickets.

However, Tom was turned away and told he'd need to contact the reseller.

"Our top recommendation is to purchase from the venue whenever possible because you can avoid the vast majority of what is ultimately reported to us, which are folks either looking to create a huge payday via a markup or are not even offering a ticket in the first place. So we see this all the time with popular concert tickets," Planos said.

Mary Carney also is going to the James Taylor concert.

She came to the Starlight ticket office on Tuesday.

"I ordered the ticket on the phone, and then they said I had to get on line and show my barcode or something at a gate. And my phone won't do that because I'm old. So, they said, 'You know, we're accommodating. Come down here anytime and get your ticket.' So that's what I did," Carney said.

She was able to get a paper ticket, which isn't always possible for many events now.

Better Business Bureau warns of rising online ticket scams. Here's what you need to know

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