PITTSBURGH — The Better Business Bureau is warning Steelers fans about counterfeit tickets and merchandise during the teams' playoff run.
Last year, the BBB received over 5,200 reports about schemes, with 300 of those reports dealing with ticket schemes.
The BBB also wants to warn fans about a suspicious apparel website. The website, www.steelersteamofficialshop.com claims to be the “official online store of the Pittsburgh Steelers." The website is falsely claiming to have BBB accreditation and does not provide a physical address, but is believed to be based in China. Customers have reported placing orders with the business, but not receiving the items or a refund.
The BBB offered the following tips to avoid becoming victims of these schemes:
• Purchase tickets from the venue. Whenever possible, use the official ticket sales agent for the venue.
• Check out the seller. Look them up on bbb.org to learn what other customers have experienced and to confirm a company's BBB rating and accreditation status. Check to see if ticket brokers are a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers at VerifiedTicketSource.com.
• Buy only from trusted vendors using secure methods. A security-enabled web page will begin with "https," instead of just "http" and will have a lock symbol that displays as green to verify security.
• Know the refund/return policy. Only purchase tickets and merchandise from sellers that provide clear details about the terms of the transaction and specific policies and time frames regarding how to make returns and obtain full refunds.
• Beware of below-market pricing. Fake websites advertise cheap prices for highly sought-after tickets and "officially licensed items" such as jerseys as a way to attract and encourage fans to make a quick purchase and provide sensitive information.
• Confirm contact information. Identify the business name, physical address, phone number and email address. If no contact information or verifiable business information is listed, it's a red flag.
To report a scheme, visit BBB Scam Tracker.