Barbra Streisand’s Concert Tour Subject Of Ticket Scam
Posted August 30, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A thousand Barbra Streisand fans are about to be bitterly disappointed.
Ticketmaster says that’s how many concert tickets sold online for the Oscar winner’s upcoming tour are invalid because they were bought with a stolen credit card and then resold on the Internet.
The company warned fans they could possess one of the affected tickets if they didn’t buy directly from Ticketmaster, either online or through a box office in one of the concert cities.
The tour stops affected include: Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Sunrise, Florida, Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Ticketmaster is reportedly trying to reach the scammed ticket holders through e-mail addresses they may have provided to the sellers.
“It is a serious violation of the law to try to buy concert tickets using stolen credit card information and, when successful, to resell those tickets to unknowing consumer victims through resale websites,” Sean Moriarty, Ticketmaster’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
It’s unclear whether authorities have any suspects in the case.
Streisand hasn’t been on stage since 2000 and she hasn’t toured since 1994. Tickets for her Canadian shows in Montreal and Toronto sold fast, with Toronto’s seats selling out in about 30 minutes on Monday. She’s playing the Air Canada Centre on Oct. 17, and Montreal’s Bell Centre on Oct. 15.
There’s no indication that the Canadian dates were affected by the Internet scam, although there are offers of resale tickets floating around on the Internet. Toronto ticket prices, which originally ranged from $85 to $350, are now going for anywhere from $250 to $1,700 online. In Montreal, where the show is close to being sold out – tickets can be had for anywhere from $170 to $750.
Opera group Il Divo is opening the show. A portion of ticket sales is going to the Streisand Foundation, which helps organizations dealing with the environment, education and women’s health.
