Holiday Show Tickets From a Site That Looked Like the Venue
You searched for a venue, bought tickets and paid far over face value on a lookalike site. How to tell if the seats exist and what your refund options are.
You searched for the theater, clicked what looked like its box office and bought two seats for the holiday concert. The total was higher than you expected, but it was December and you wanted good seats. Then you checked the venue’s real site, and the same seats cost a fraction of what you paid.
Consider what happened at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. In July 2025, Fox 2 Detroit reported that Michigan’s attorney general was investigating thehillauditorium.com, a site that appeared to be official but was not connected to the venue. One buyer paid $1,263.95 for two tickets to a Berlin Philharmonic performance, when official tickets were $175 each. The operator was named as Pure Tonic Marketing Ltd, believed to be based in the Seychelles.
The National Independent Venue Association says the practice is widespread. In a letter to state attorneys general dated June 8 (the document is filed as 2026), the group said it had found 6,000 deceptive URLs and websites that make buyers believe they are purchasing directly from an artist or venue and then send them to resale platforms. That is NIVA’s count and its description, and companies named in it may dispute it. The letter also cites one user’s report of losing $213.49 on a site that spoofed Stage AE in Pittsburgh, and it lists unauthorized logos, names in web addresses and design that mimics official sites among the tactics.
Two very different situations
| You overpaid, but the seats are real | The tickets do not exist or will not work | |
|---|---|---|
| What it looks like | A resale listing at a high price, with a transfer that arrives before the show | No transfer, a vague “tickets will be delivered closer to the date,” or a venue that cannot find the booking |
| Is it a scam? | Perhaps deceptive, but you may have a working ticket. Regulators and courts may view it differently | Treat it as fraud |
| Best first move | Ask the seller for a refund citing the misleading site, and report the site | Dispute the charge right away and contact the venue |
| Can you still go? | Yes, if the transfer is accepted at the door | Plan on buying elsewhere |
Find the venue’s phone number on its own website or a recent mailed season brochure. Don’t use the number on your confirmation. Ask two questions: Is this show on sale through you? Can you tell me whether a seat matching this section and row exists?
Check what you actually bought
- Open your confirmation email and read the sender’s address.
- Look at the small print for words like “resale,” “secondary market” or “not affiliated with the venue.”
- Look at your card statement. A merchant name different from the venue tells you who actually took the money.
- Confirm the event name, date and time against the venue’s official listing, which the New York Department of State recommends before buying.
- Find out how the tickets get to you, and when. If you only have a PDF or a screenshot, see our guide on why a ticket screenshot is not a transfer.
If you paid by card
The New York alert notes that credit cards generally offer more dispute protection than debit cards or payment apps, and suggests considering a dispute with the issuer if you paid by credit card. The FTC’s dispute guidance says a written dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first bill showing the charge was sent to you. Don’t let that window close while you wait for a concert date in December.
In your dispute, say what you believed you were buying and from whom: “I intended to buy from [venue]. The website used its name and logo. I later learned the site is not connected to the venue.” Attach a screenshot of the site, if it’s still up, and a note of what the venue told you.
For a debit card, contact the bank through the number on the card. For other payment methods, use the FTC’s list of what to do for each.
If the seller is real but won’t help
Write to the company with the order number and a short deadline. If it is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, New York’s alert says those companies must guarantee every ticket sold on their websites, and you can check at VerifiedTicketSource.com. Ask your state attorney general’s consumer office whether it takes complaints about deceptive ticket URLs, as NIVA’s letter urges states to act on them. New Yorkers can call the Consumer Assistance Helpline at 1-800-697-1220.
What to file and where
- ReportFraud.ftc.gov, with the web address and the amount you paid.
- Your state attorney general, where the venue is and where you live, if those differ.
- The venue. Its staff may be collecting examples, and it helps them warn other patrons.
Watch out for strangers offering to “transfer” replacement tickets once you start asking around in fan groups or on social media. A second payment to someone who contacted you first is how one bad purchase becomes two. The New York alert warns about resellers who ask for payment outside an official ticket platform, and our guide to sellers who want to finish off-platform explains what you lose by agreeing.
Check before you drive there
If you have decided to use the tickets you have, confirm that they are in the venue’s own ticketing app or account, or that the seller’s transfer has actually gone through, at least a day before the show. Ask the box office what will happen if a ticket fails at the door, and whether seats remain for that performance. Bring your order confirmation so you can show it to staff and to your card issuer if it comes to that.
Next time, start from the venue’s website address, which you can find on your season mailer, on the venue’s social profile or from the artist’s tour page. Search results are where the lookalike sites do their work.
Sources
- Fox 2 Detroit, University of Michigan venue targeted in overseas ticket scam (July 18, 2025)
- NIVA, Letter to State Attorneys General re: deceptive URLs
- New York Department of State, Consumer alert on World Cup tickets (June 9, 2026)
- FTC, Disputing credit card charges
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