Larry Magid: Enjoy the Super Bowl, but watch out for scammers

Whether you’re one of the tens of thousands in the stadium or the millions watching on TV, the Super Bowl is an opportunity to see some great football and world-class entertainment.

But it’s also an opportunity for scammers to take advantage of fans and other members of the public.

Ticket fraud is the most common risk, with fake tickets being promoted and sold through social media posts, email, text messages, and resale forums. Scammers may send images of tickets that look legitimate but won’t get you into the stadium. Requests to pay by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency, or person-to-person payment apps are major red flags, especially when the seller pressures buyers to act fast. If you’re looking for a ticket, make sure you’re dealing with legitimate sellers or resellers such as NFL.com, Levi’s Stadium, or well-known ticket brokers like StubHub or Ticketmaster. But expect to pay a lot. When I checked about 10 days before the game, tickets on NFL.com ranged from $6,976 to just under $30,000 per seat. Sometimes legitimate ticket brokers will offer lower prices on unsold tickets at the last minute but always make sure you’re dealing with a legitimate reseller.

Also watch out for contests and other offers to win free tickets, VIP passes, or exclusive merchandise in exchange for personal information or a small “processing fee,” along with lodging scams, where people reserve and pay for hotel rooms or private rentals only to discover that the reservation or the property itself doesn’t exist.

And, of course, there’s often the risk of online or in-person offers for counterfeit merchandise such as jerseys, T-shirts, hats, and other products that either never arrive or are low quality, ripping off both consumers and the companies that own the licenses for official merchandise.

Halftime shows

This year there’s another scam risk tied to a legitimate initiative by an organization which has announced plans for an alternative halftime show. Like the Super Bowl itself, it has become a magnet for scammers trying to lure people to fake or malicious websites.

When the alternative show was announced last October, said Richard Wallace, a senior cyber threat analyst at DigiCert, it “ginned up a lot of interest and a lot of speculation,” but was followed by very little concrete information. That information gap, he said, has been filled by false claims circulating on social media, including supposed performer lineups and links to buy tickets, sometimes luring people to malicious websites that steal money and personal information or even deliver malware or ransomware. Even though the program itself is legitimate, Wallace said that it “leaves a vacuum that scammers are eager to exploit.”

When it comes to any big event, Wallace recommends extreme caution with links found on social media. He advises users to independently search for official sites rather than clicking links, watch for “typosquatting” (look-alike URLs with small spelling changes), and be skeptical of any request for money or donations from sources that you can’t verify as trustworthy. He encourages people to verify claims using multiple trusted sources, use reputable ticket platforms, check for secure connections, and be wary of newly registered websites posing as established organizations.

Whether you enjoy football, halftime shows, or just an excuse to eat junk food in front of the TV or shop in nearly empty stores, the Super Bowl seems to have something for nearly everyone. But if you see anything that looks too good to be true, or likely fake, proceed with caution.

Despite their helmets and other safety gear, NFL players know they’re risking injury when they step onto the field. But fans at home should be able to enjoy the game without risking scams or fraud.

Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist. Contact him at larry@larrymagid.com.