Football is a sport that unites the world in competitive rivalry and causes men and woman around the world to have something outside of themselves and their families to invest their time and energy in. The sport of football is not just a game, it is a passion that some will spend thousands of dollars a year to follow.
However, there is some concern when it comes to purchasing tickets through a quick and efficient online vendor. No matter how much of a fan someone is they do not wish to pay money or give out their credit card information to a website they can’t trust.
With this particular issue in mind here are three tips to insure that you will not be scammed, defrauded, or simply robbed by a website that claims to be legitimate.
Tip One
When looking for a site online to purchase Manchester United tickets from the first tip is to actively attempt to determine if they are a fraudulent website that will not deliver the goods. Take the website’s name and enter it into a search engine, such as Google. After the site name or address type in the words “Scam” and “Fraud”. Perform this as two separate searches.
If this leads to a few sites where people had issues with the potential ticket vendor read through the complaints carefully to determine whether it was the site’s fault or something the buyer did wrong. If the buyer is only complaining because of something they did incorrectly while purchasing then this does not count as fraudulent activity.
However, if they mention being robbed or getting the wrong tickets when they ordered properly then this is a site you should avoid.
Tip Two
Putting in credit or debit card information can cause even the most diehard fan to stop and reflect on the possibilities of willingly allowing themselves to be robbed. One way to drastically lessen the impact of credit or debit theft is to open a debit, or credit, account that does not have overdraft fees.
There are many of these online, as well as in walk-in institutions. These cards will decline anything attempted charge over what the balance of the card is and will not charge a fee for doing so, usually.
The reason this is a good way to avoid being scammed is simplicity itself. With a card that cannot be overcharged all the prospective purchaser needs to do is keep a minimum balance on it for purchasing tickets. This will be their “ticket” card only.
This will keep the cards they use for business or other personal finances free of the online scams they may run across. If one of the online scam artists try to take their information and steal from them then they will know immediately and can shut down that activity.
Tip Three
Don’t be fooled by tags on a page that read “certified” or “protected by” with a company logo next to it. Secured transactions are incredibly important but unless a website actually encrypts the monetary transfer they are worthless to you.
Seek out websites that take you to a page with “Https:” as the terminal protocol. If the “s” does not appear at the end of the terminal protocol, there are two other main types such as ftps that are also secure, then the site is probably insecure despite claiming otherwise.
The “Certified” and “protected by” tags are useful for the most part since they will grant the prospective buyer knowledge that the site has been looked over and encrypted by a third party encryption specialist. However, unscrupulous individuals can steal these image tags and copy them onto their sites.
Always check to see if the page shows as encrypted. While this is not a one hundred percent guarantee of the quality of the site in question, it does lend itself better to purchasing from them.
In the end you will need to trust your instincts and check your tickets upon receipt of them. Follow this up by watching your debit or credit account like a hawk for a while after entering the information. A proactive Manchester United fan is a happy Manchester United fan.