San Francisco Giants fans are certainly celebrating their team's chance at capturing the World Series title and some maybe making plans to see the games in person, but the Better Business Bureau is advising fans to proceed with caution.
The BBB is warning fans to especially be wary of ticket and hotel packages that seem too good to be true.
"Big games are known for bringing the scammers out," said Gary Almond, president of BBB serving northeast California. "If you are going to buy tickets or book a hotel online, take a few extra seconds to research who you are dealing with."
Championship games can often lead to counterfeit tickets or wire transfer fraud. BBB encourages fans to be especially cautious when purchasing tickets through third-party sites or classified advertising.
Additionally, scams that involve selling hotel rooms to hotels that don't exist or offering invalid hotel reservations can leave fans stranded.
Better Business Bureau advises Giants fans to use the following guidelines when looking for deals during this World Series:
• Be wary of purchasing tickets from someone on the street. You may end up with tickets that have already been used or outright fakes.
• Ask the seller for additional contact information to ensure you can reach them if something goes wrong with the tickets or reservations. If the seller avoids your questions, be wary.
• Ask for the original receipt the seller received for the tickets or hotel rooms.
• If you are purchasing tickets or reservations through a classified site, do not wire money. There is no way to retrieve money once it is wired.
• If purchasing through an auction site, read the seller's reviews.
• Check out the selling website's policies. Are there any processes in place to verify a seller's identity? Does the site offer any guarantees for the tickets purchased?
• Review the seating chart and verify the seats actually exist before purchasing.