Got scammed buying tickets? What to do right now

You sent the money. The tickets never came, or the seller went quiet, or the account is gone. First: this happens to careful people constantly, and the comments telling you to "be smarter" are written by people it has not happened to yet. Scam accounts are built to look exactly like a real fan.

Here is what to do, in order.

In the first hour

Try to reverse the payment. How much you can do depends on how you paid.

Credit card or PayPal Goods and Services: open a dispute now. You paid for something you did not receive; that is what disputes are for.

Bank transfer, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App: contact the app or your bank immediately and report it as fraud. These payments are hard to reverse, which is why scammers ask for them, but reporting fast gives you the best chance, and it creates a record.

Save everything. Screenshot the listing, the profile, every message, the payment confirmation and the seller's username and any name they gave. Do it now, before the account disappears. Scam accounts often vanish within hours.

Report the account on the platform. It will not get your money back, but it can slow them down for the next person.

Report it properly

United States: report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. The BBB Scam Tracker also takes reports and is where the yearly numbers on ticket scams come from.

United Kingdom: report to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk, the police service that replaced Action Fraud, or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101.

Canada: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Elsewhere: your national police non-emergency line or consumer protection agency.

Be honest with yourself about the outcome. Reports matter, but a report against a deleted account with a fake name rarely leads anywhere, because there is nobody to find. That is the whole design of the scam, and it is the thing to fix for next time.

Why it happened, and what to change for next time

You did not get scammed because you were careless. You got scammed because the seller was untraceable. They could take the money, delete the account and start again under a new name, and there was nothing you could have reported except a username.

The check that changes that is knowing the seller's real identity before you pay.

Anchor is a free link that proves a real, named person is behind an account. The seller verifies once with a government ID and a live selfie check, and the link shows their real name and which accounts are really theirs. If someone with an Anchor took your money, you would have a real name to put on the report, not a deleted handle. A scammer has every reason not to make one.

Next time, before you send anything: "Can you send me your Anchor?" No Anchor, no money.

Tell the people around you

If you got scammed in a fan group or a thread, post about it there, with the username and the pattern. The next buyer may be talking to the same account right now. Point them to this page or to getanchor.id so they can ask the seller for an Anchor before they pay.