Facebook scammers trying to dupe Chicagoans into buying fake tickets

Facebook users are telling FOX 32 that fake profiles are popping up with users selling tickets to sold out events.

The problem is, the tickets don't exist.

FOX 32’s Scott Schneider talked to one local man who says he got scammed.

“My job is to know all the events going on in Chicago, so I was looking up events, looking up tickets,” said Andrew Escobar.

Escobar says staying "in the know" is just part of his job description. He manages a transportation company and says he came across an event that he wanted to check out.

“A sold-out museum event, it was an after-hours event,” Escobar said.

He went to the event's Facebook page and saw people selling tickets.

“I asked them if we could meet to exchange, make the exchange, and they said they were out of town, that's why they couldn't make the event, which makes sense since it was a day or two before the event,” Escobar said.

The person then asked Escobar to pay for the tickets using an app called "Cash". He sent $60 for two tickets.

“After that, his Facebook profile just disappears. It vanishes,” Escobar said.

He was left with no tickets and his money was gone too.

“I felt scammed, and it wasn't a good feeling,” he said.

The "Cash" app does warn "fraudulent transactions may result in the loss of your money with no recourse."

The Better Business Bureau says whenever you're looking for tickets, only buy from trusted sites, like licensed ticket re-sellers with a money-back guarantee.

And use payments that come with protection, like your credit card. Escobar echoes that, and warns not to buy tickets from people you don't know on social media, like he did.

“I feel like other people are being scammed, and nobody's talking about it right now so. I think more people should know so that others don't go through what I had to go through,” Escobar said.