TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt advises consumers to protect themselves against purchasing counterfeit NFL merchandise or falling victim to phone scams involving fake tickets to Super Bowl LV.
“We’re all proud of the Chiefs’ repeat trip to the Super Bowl and the opportunity to run it back,” Schmidt said. “But Kansans should keep up their guard against scammers looking to make a quick buck off the team’s success by selling fake merchandise or non-existent tickets falsely promising fans entry to the limited-capacity game.”
Schmidt offered the following tips for making a purchase related to the Super Bowl:
Check the tag: All officially licensed NFL products will bear the league’s shield on the tag. If the tag on the merchandise does not have the hologram shield, it may be counterfeit. A good indication of official merchandise includes where it is manufactured and the quality of the NFL logo on the item.
Beware of phone scams: Last year, during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run, local officials reported receiving complaints of phone scams regarding game ticket purchases, with scammers using phone numbers that appear local with a 913 or 816 area code offering discounted tickets sold online. Once the scammer receives the online payment for the tickets, they block the consumer’s phone number to prevent a call back when the tickets inevitably do not arrive. As a general rule, consumers should not answer the phone when it is an unrecognized number and never give personal information or make a payment over the phone or over an unverified website.
Purchase tickets through a verified source: The Chiefs have offered NFL ticket exchange, StubHub and SeatGeek as examples of NFL-approved retailers to purchase or sell tickets to the game. Remember, capacity will be limited to 22,000 spectators and a significant portion of those tickets will be for specially invited front-line health care workers.
Door-to-door and ‘pop-up stand’ sales: Kansas law says that for any purchase of more than $25 made at your home, or any location that is not the seller’s permanent place of business or local address, consumers have three days after the purchase is made to cancel the transaction. Kansas door-to-door statutes regulate these sales from, for example, “pop-up” sidewalk stands and tents in parking lots with Chiefs merchandise. The seller must give written and verbal notice of this right to cancel and contact information if consumers choose to exercise their right to cancel. Consumers who wish to cancel the transaction should do so by certified mail so it can be tracked. Companies are then required to refund the consumer’s money within 10 days of receiving the cancellation. Kansas law also requires the sales receipt to be dated, show the name and address of the seller, be in a large legible font and explain the right to cancel. The receipt must be in the same language used in the sales presentation.
Last year, Schmidt’s office participated in coordinated enforcement actions with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Kansas Department of Revenue and the Topeka Police Department against out-of-state pop-up sellers of counterfeit Chiefs merchandise. The actions resulted in enforcement actions being filed, including one that led to the banning of a Tennessee man from doing business in Kansas and $30,000 in civil penalties.
Consumers who believe they may have fallen victim to a Super Bowl-related scam should contact their local law enforcement, or call the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division at (800) 432-2310. Complaints may also be filed online at www.InYourCornerKansas.org.
