The popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has just completed its first weekend of concerts, but the second weekend of concerts that make up the festival will start April 20th. Online ticket sales are the primary way most people purchase tickets, but also have proven to be a profitable venue for scammers to sell counterfeit and sometimes totally non-existent tickets to popular sporting and music events.
Recently a company calling itself HTDTixx, that appeared to be a legitimate online ticket seller, scammed people out of as much as $2,500 for non-existent three day passes to Coachella.
TIPS
Always buy your tickets from legitimate sources that you have confirmed are legitimate with your local state’s attorney general. Buying tickets directly from the venue box office or reputable ticket sale or exchange sites is the safest way to buy tickets. Even then, check with the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau, as well for any complaints against these companies offering ticket sales.  Never wire money for tickets because once money is wired, it is gone forever, leaving you with no recourse if the tickets are phony.  Only pay through a credit card where you would be in a good position to get your money back if the sale is a scam.  Be particularly wary of deals offered on social media such as Facebook or Craigslist and never transfer payment directly to an individual ticket seller; always use a secure payment site such as PayPal.  They might be legitimate, but often they might not.  Either way it is not worth the risk. 
When buying tickets on-line using your credit card, make sure that the connection is secure. Always look for the prefix https rather than http in order to confirm that the data is encrypted as it is being transferred.
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