UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Police and Public Safety (UPPS) is alerting all Nittany Lion football fans to the rise in ticket scams, which have become increasingly common in recent seasons.
“As we approach the 2025 college football season, there is ongoing concern over fraudulent online ticket sales,” said Wesley Sheets, Penn State associate vice president and chief of police and public safety. “We urge fans to be extremely careful when purchasing event tickets to avoid internet scams.”
According to Sheets, University Police received 94 reports of ticket scams in 2024, with the majority of victims being students who suffered financial losses.
Most of these scams are carried out through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and GroupMe. Offenders typically create fake accounts to advertise tickets that are not actually available, often posting misleading photos and requesting payment through online platforms like Venmo or Zelle, rather than verified bank or credit card transactions.
“Payments made through these platforms make it much more difficult to track transactions,” Sheets explained.
Once payment is made, scammers typically delete their account, leaving victims unable to recover their money.
To avoid football ticket scams, Penn State fans should only purchase game day tickets through the Penn State Athletics ticket office or authorized vendor Ticketmaster. For verified student ticket resale purchases, students should use the Student Ticket Resale Marketplace, which uses the same log in credentials as the Penn State Student Account Manager. These are the only approved sources for Nittany Lion Athletics home event ticket sales.
Anyone in the Penn State community who suspects they may have fallen victim to a scam is encouraged to report the incident either directly to their campus police station or through the online reporting portal at police.psu.edu/report-crime. Penn State University Police and Public Safety at University Park can be reached at 814-863-1111 and in person at University Support Building 1, Suite 101. For information on police headquarters and phone numbers at Commonwealth Campuses, visit police.psu.edu.