Whether you follow the Buckeyes in person or your high school team from home, scammers and shady business practices will try to get your money.
Judy Dollison of the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio talks about some scams and predatory business practices to watch out for on game day.
“We know that many fans look forward to the home games, so we warned you to be careful when looking for parking. There are unscrupulous towing companies out there that are really trying to maximize their profits with this increased demand for parking. Sometimes they make private deals with parking lot owners that result in you being towed without you realizing it’s a tow zone.”
Dollison recommends planning ahead and learning about parking and tow zones to avoid ruining game day. But watching the game from home can also pose risks.
“We’ve found that scammers are setting up fake streaming sites. You can often see them via social media links. You might search for the game you can’t get to and see it in a social feed. You click the link and it takes you to a site where you enter your credit card information. And then a day or two later, when the game is supposed to start, you log in and you don’t have access. That’s because it was a scam from the start and they’re just there to take your money.”
To avoid scams from streaming services, the best thing to do is call the team or school to confirm that they have a streaming contract, or look up the site on the BBB’s website. You can also report scams on the BBB’s website to protect others from scams you may have experienced.
