Niners Fans Screwed in Superbowl Scam with a Twist

January 31st, 2013. By AbiK

A couple of Niners fans have been screwed out of almost $6,000 after they thought they were buying legitimate Superbowl XLVII tickets. The scam itself wasn’t unusual, but this ticket scam had a bit of a twist.

It goes without saying that tickets to the Superbowl are hotly pursued in the weeks leading up to the big game. And ticket scammers are fully aware of that, taking to sites like Craigslist to hock their would-be seats at the Superdome in New Orleans.

It was, indeed, an ad on Craigslist that Hayward, California couple Sharon Osgood and her boyfriend responded to when they agreed to wire $5,900 cross-country for four 49ers-Ravens tickets. After all, the seller had even spoken with them live on the phone, telling them he had to skip the game due to his wife being eight months pregnant. So they went ahead.

Here’s the twist: what they received in return for their money wire, however, was a picture of quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Joe Flacco with a note underneath that said: “Enjoy the game!!!! Go Ravens!!! LOL”.

No tickets.

The fact that they received anything at all is really quite unusual as scams go.

According to the Mercury News, Osgood was quoted as saying, “I’m just sick—like, physically sick. All over the envelope it says ‘go Ravens’ —even on the FedEx label.” (Undoubtedly, she is also sick over the loss of close to $6,000—but clearly, in the immediate aftermath of the scam, her loyalty to the 49ers must have outweighed her disgust and anger over being duped and losing the money…)

The News goes on to report that, undaunted by their loss, Osgood and her boyfriend plan on still trekking to New Orleans—in their RV—for the game, even if it means they’ll wind up watching the game from a bar on Bourbon Street.

But there’s more—a follow-up twist: it seems after reports of this scam got out, the News reported that Nathan Hubbard, CEO at Ticketmaster, offered Osgood four free tickets to the game—and a breakfast with Troy Aikman.

Additionally, Osgood heard from the 49ers front office—they offered a free ticket as well.

In some way, all’s well that ends well when the ending you want is tickets to the Superbowl. Osgood is still out the $5,900; a police report has been filed but whether the scamming perp will be caught is anyone’s guess.

Tags: 49ers, Ravens, scam, Sharon Osgood, Superbowl Scam, Superbowl XLVII, Ticket Scam

This was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2013 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Emerging Issues, Scam . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.