How to Spot Forged Baseball Tickets

The best way to determine if a ticket is forged is to have it electronically scanned at the gate. Of course you'll want to know if that ticket your thinking of buying from the guy by the hot dog cart is legit before you fork over your hard earned cash.

To start of, ask the scalper if you can see the tickets and inspect them. Generally if the tickets are legitimate a scalper will gladly oblige in hopes of making a sale. If they say no, this is a red flag that the tickets are no good.

If inspection is allowed you'll want to look for overall consistency and organized design on the ticket. Tickets should have official markings on them such as the Ticketmaster logo on the back and generally for baseball include the team's logo on the front. The ticket layout should match other tickets you have used for this team's events. Insure that the seating arrangement on the ticket matches actual seats somewhere in the stadium as well as insuring the ticket details such as event date and time and teams playing match the event you are trying to attend.

Believe it or not many forged tickets lack the correct data on them and only look real under a quick glance. Colors should be consistent with other tickets you see holders carrying around and if you know the ticket should have a watermark or specific seal make sure it is present before purchasing.

Perhaps the BEST and SAFEST way to ensure the ticket is legitimate is to ask the scalper if you can have the ticket scanned at the gate while they standby. Explain to the attendant that you picked up your season tickets in a rush and want to make sure it is valid for that day's game. Usually they will comply and if their scanner comes up with an authentic reading, the tickets are good. Those collecting tickets manually may be less observant and forged tickets may get through more easily.

In the event you do wind up with a forged ticket you will want to be honest and contact the baseball team's ticket management office immediately. There you will be able to turn over the forged ticket, explain who it was purchased from, and at least be able to allow management to alert ticket takers of the latest look and feel of forged tickets.