However, FactFinder wants to warn fans of potential scammers who are buying or selling tickets on Facebook.
Many people put out posts on social media asking if anyone is interested in selling their tickets to upcoming games. There are also plenty of Facebook groups made for this type of ticket exchange between fans, but if you’re not careful, you could end up losing your money and still without the tickets you hoped for.
“If it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” said Sheila Lazarus, a lifelong Chiefs’ fan.
During the 2024 football season, Lazarus was hoping to get tickets to bring her husband to Arrowhead for the first time. She made a post on a Kansas City ticket exchange Facebook page asking for tickets and quickly had several offers. She went through those offers and found someone selling tickets that would have saved her hundreds of dollars compared to if she had purchased them from other websites.
Lazarus privately messaged the seller from the Facebook group, who said they would bring an administrator to confirm and release the tickets. She was told she’d first have to send money through Zelle for the tickets and include a tip for the admin.
“The guy was very reassuring,” Lazarus said about the person she had been messaging.
She added that she had never purchased tickets this way before, so her guard was up during the exchange. Lazarus paid $1,050 for the tickets and an additional $10 tip through Zelle. After time passed and she still hadn’t received the tickets, she sent a message asking if she had been scammed.
The person she was talking to through messenger left the conversation, and Lazarus says that was the last time she heard from them.
“I was beyond devastated,” said Lazarus. “The sense of betrayal and disbelief has been overwhelming.”
FactFinder spoke with admins who run several ticket exchange Facebook groups. They say experiences like the one Lazarus had happen often.
“Admins shouldn’t be asking for any type of payment,” said Catherine Baskett, an admin for a Chiefs’ ticket page. “Walk away. It’s not worth the risk.”
Baskett says the admins should act as a middleman during the exchange, and it is a red flag if they ask for a tip.
“They are walking away with two or three thousand dollars just for a game because of the amount of transfers,” said Baskett. “It’s quantity over quality.”
She also advises fans to be cautious if they are buying tickets from public Facebook groups or if the ticket group has thousands of members, as it can be difficult to vet everyone in there.
For Lazarus, it was a lesson learned, and she doesn’t plan to buy tickets from Facebook again.
“I took it as a life lesson, and we never went to the game,” said Lazarus.
Lazarus called her bank to report the scam but was told she wouldn’t be able to get her money back. She advises using a credit card if you are buying tickets because that transaction can be disputed.
For those still looking for tickets on Facebook, be sure to double-check the profiles you’re messaging with.
If the profile was recently created or if the names do not match those on the profile, it could be a fake account. If the seller is pressuring you at any point to make a quick payment, block the Facebook account.
