With the UofA basketball team once again making it to the NCAA Tournament, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning Southern Arizonans who are keen to buy NCAA Tournament merchandise, or will be traveling to the games, about scams related to March Madness.

Major sporting events like the NCAA tournament almost always inspire scammers to capitalize on the scarcity of tickets and fans’ desire to snap up souvenirs or team jerseys. BBB advises fans to check out offers before spending their hard-earned cash.
Craigslist has thousands of sports tickets listed, but the site doesn’t offer guarantees and sellers don’t have to provide identification to list tickets. If you decide to try buying a ticket outside the event, remember that there are no refunds or guarantees there, either. Official NCAA ticket information is available at http://www.ncaa.com/tickets.

BBB’s website, www.bbb.org, lists reputable, secondary market ticket firms that provide buyer protections, including money-back guarantees if tickets are fake. On some sites, sellers also must provide credit card numbers so the site can charge a seller’s card for the cost of replacement tickets if they sell fake tickets.

While counterfeit items may seem like a good deal, they are actually stolen goods. If you love your team, don’t buy a hat or jersey from someone who has stolen the team’s name and logo for their own profit.

Many counterfeit items are more cheaply made than genuine merchandise, which means they may not last as long as the real thing. Buying counterfeit memorabilia online poses even more potential problems. Some websites don’t even have merchandise to sell. They just want your credit card number and personal information so they can steal your identity or drain your bank account.

The best way to ensure you are getting official sports gear is to buy directly from the team or league websites, from official vendors at the stadium or from other trusted stores.

BBB advises fans to ask lots of questions and be wary of any offer that requires wiring money or using Green Dot cards. When you send money by wire, it is almost impossible to get it back or to trace the recipient, who may be overseas.

In addition to ticket scams and counterfeit merchandise, beware of cyber scams that take advantage of the large interest in March Madness by poisoning search results related to the tournament with malware that can infect computers and put consumers’ personal information at risk.

BBB tips for avoiding scams connected to special events:

• Read ads carefully to understand what is being offered and what the price will be.
• Be wary of ticket offers at extreme discount prices. If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is!
• Ask the seller where he or she is located and how he or she may be contacted after the sale. If the seller is evasive, don’t pursue the offer.
• When booking hotels, ask for the name, address and phone number of the hotel where the room is located, and call the hotel to verify that the room actually exists. Check the hotel’s website or a reputable travel site to be sure that the location is convenient for getting to and from the arena.
• Be wary of ads that pile on incentives to make the package look better. Often the items – such as lanyards, T-shirts or other trinkets – have limited value.
• Use a credit card. A credit card company can assist you with obtaining a refund if the offer turns out to be fraudulent.

For more consumer news or to find a business you can trust, visit www.tucson.bbb.org.

Attention, Black Friday shoppers: While scavenging retail stores on Nov. 23, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona warns of anti-climactic bargains, limited quantities and bait-and-switch tactics.

• Have sale advertisements and coupons? Bring them to stores and hold on tight.
• Is it the real deal? Comparison shop online to see how similar products are priced.
• Are there conditions or limitations? Read fine print carefully; look for asterisks and time frames.
• Is it first come, first served? See if ads specify that supplies are limited.
• See overly-enticing signage? Review closely and snap photos to defend deals.
• Do terms change at registers? Watch out for higher prices due to undisclosed stipulations on “percentage-off” sales and “free” offers.
• Are there special incentives with in-store credit cards? Beware of high fees and interest rates. Too many open cards can damage credit.
• What about returns and exchanges? Find out if items are “final sale.” Carefully inspect “clearance” merchandise and other markdowns.
• Do ads or offers seem misleading? See the store manager. Contact BBB if problems persist.

Many students are off for summer break and find themselves searching for temporary work. Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning high school and university students looking for work this summer to avoid common job scams. Here are 10 tip-offs that the “employment opportunity” could be a scam:

1. Big bucks for simple tasks. Watch out if they promise to pay you a lot of money for jobs that don’t seem to require much effort or skill. If it sounds too good to be true, it might be a scam.

2. Job offers out of nowhere from strangers. If they offer you a job without getting an application from you, meeting you or doing an interview, it’s probably a scam. Don’t hand your personal information, especially your Social Security number or credit card information to such people. This could lead to identity theft.

3. Requests for up-front payments. If someone wants you to make an advance payment to partake in a new business opportunity – especially if it’s a big investment, or you don’t have much information about the deal – this is a red flag. “Advance fee scams” are very common and they come in many varieties.

4. They ask you to wire the money. If you wire a payment to somebody, it’s gone forever. Wire transfers of money are a convenient and perfectly legitimate service. But scam artists often ask you to wire payments that they are requesting (especially to destinations in other countries) because they know you won’t be able to get your money back.

5. High pressure to do it now. Don’t be in a hurry to accept an unsolicited offer of work, or to make a business investment, particularly if the other party is asking you to spend your money on the deal. Take your time and check it out. If somebody tries to convince you that this is a “limited time” offer and you have to act now, just tell them to forget it. High pressure is a common sign that something’s wrong.

6. Refusal to give you full details in writing. Ask for complete information in writing. Look carefully at any documentation they might provide to make sure it answer all your questions. If they won’t give details, or don’t respond to questions, don’t do business with them.

7. References are missing or a bit suspicious. A real business should be able to give you professional references, ask for references and check them yourself. Even if the references seem good, don’t make your decision based on references alone. Do a careful background check; free Business Reviews are available at www.bbb.org.

8. Contact information is missing or doesn’t make sense. Be very cautious if a company is trying to get you to accept a job, but seems to lack any established physical location with a real street address. A cell phone number and website address are not enough contact information. If there is an address, it’s worth taking a moment to check it out on the Internet.

9. They want you to buy expensive items. Be cautious if they expect you to make a major purchase of equipment, software, inventory or information in order to get started in business. It seems like it might be a real business opportunity – but it’s not; the buyer makes the purchase and never receives the things needed to set up the business.

10. It has a bad rating with the BBB. Victims do complain to the BBB about work-at-home scams. It only takes minutes to check a company’s record with us at www.tucson.bbb.org.