World Series baseball fever has taken hold in St. Louis and Dallas, and fans from all over the country are scrambling to find places to stay in both cities on game nights. Better Business Bureau has found several ads for hotel packages that raise suspicions of scams. BBB warns fans to beware of offers that don’t sound right.

Several ads for World Series hotel packages on a classified ad site claimed to offer tickets for a Rams-Cowboys game along with the hotel, a tip-off that the person who placed the ad may not be familiar with the teams in the World Series, the Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. Some ads are full of misspellings, which also can be a characteristic of fraudulent ads.

“Sports fans may be anxious to get a hotel room near the ballpark, without weighing the cost or the possibility that the advertised room doesn’t exist,” said Kim States, BBB President.

“Scammers may lure people by advertising low prices – or they may charge a premium by claiming that the hotel is close to the ballpark when it isn’t,” States said. “Others may offer tickets with the hotel room, but you have little or no way of verifying whether the tickets are real.”

BBB of Southern Arizona advises fans to ask lots of questions and be wary of an offer that requires wiring money. When you send money by wire, it is almost impossible to get it back or to trace the recipient, (more…)