Fake ticket sellers scam fans of Koshien baseball tournament
Listen to the story
A wave of fraud cases has hit fans trying to buy tickets for the summer Koshien baseball tournament.
Koshien is one of Japan's most popular high school baseball events, held every summer.
Because official tickets can be hard to get, many fans look for them on social media instead.
In these cases, someone offered to resell their ticket to a buyer online.
The buyer was asked to pay money before receiving anything.
The seller then said they would send a QR code for entry.
A QR code is a small image that a phone can scan to open a link or show a ticket.
However, in several cases, no real ticket or working code ever arrived.
This left buyers with no ticket and no way to get their money back.
Police say this is a type of scam, where people are tricked into giving away money.
The Koshien police station, in Hyogo prefecture, has received reports about the problem.
So far, nine people have filed complaints with the police.
Officers are now investigating the cases and warning fans to be careful.
They advise people not to pay for tickets before checking that the seller is real.
Buying tickets through official channels is the safest way to avoid being tricked.
This case shows how popular events can attract scammers online.
Fans are urged to report any suspicious ticket offers to the police right away.
Vocabulary7 words
- tournament
- a sports event with many games and rounds
- social media
- websites or apps for sharing and talking online
- resell
- to sell something you bought to someone else
- QR code
- a small square code read by a phone camera
- scan
- to use a phone to read a code or picture
- scam
- a trick used to take someone's money
- prefecture
- a large region in Japan, like a state
Quiz
Answer key
1. Official tickets were hard to get 2. No real ticket or code arrived 3. Nine
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
A wave of _____ has hit fans trying to buy tickets for the summer Koshien baseball tournament.
Because official tickets can be hard to get, many fans look for them on _____ instead.
In these cases, someone offered to _____ their ticket to a buyer online.
The buyer was asked to pay _____ before receiving anything.
The seller then said they would send a _____ for entry.
However, in several cases, no real ticket or working code ever _____.
Police say this is a type of _____, where people are tricked into giving away money.
The Koshien police station, in Hyogo _____, has received reports about the problem.
So far, _____ people have filed complaints with the police.
They advise people not to pay for tickets before checking that the seller is _____.
Discussion questions
- Have you ever tried to buy tickets for a big sports event? Was it easy or hard?
- Why do you think people trust strangers on social media when buying tickets?
- What steps can people take to avoid ticket scams online?
- Should social media companies do more to stop scams like this?