Texas Couple Scammed Out Of $10,000 Thinking They Were Buying Tickets To George Strait’s Benefit Concert: “They Should Get Life In Prison”

You’ve got to keep your head on a swivel out there in today’s scam-likely world.

Unfortunately and frustratingly, scammers are trying to reel in victims any way that they can. That might mean posing as a celebrity, or in this case, taking advantage of a natural disaster. We already knew that scammers were the worst type of people, but using the recent Texas flood as a way to draw someone in and steal thousands of dollars? That’s a low that I didn’t even know existed.

According to NEWSS4SA, a Texas couple was recently swindled out of $10,000 by a scammer who was acting as a ticket sale avenue for George Strait’s upcoming Texas flood benefit concert. The “King of Country” is having a special benefit dinner and concert in Boerne, Texas called Strait To The Heart that’s taking place on Sunday, July 27th at Estancia at Thunder Valley indoor arena. That’s very real.

But the tickets the unnamed Texas couple bought were not.

The husband says that it all started when his wife got a notification about the upcoming event. He did his best to check everything, knowing that it could be scam, and everything seemingly checked out:

“My wife received a Facebook post advertising a George Strait fundraiser in Boerne. Description, everything seemed legitimate.

I got online and started checking different websites. Not a single mention of a scam based around this. Went to Strait’s website, looked at wording and it was the same. Graphics – it was the same. It looked like George’s website.”

So the man got to emailing with a contact that was included in the graphics that were sent to his wife. They were apparently very helpful with the ticket process, and with hindsight, that’s because the scammer knew that they had hooked their next victim. Sure enough, the husband ended up sending money for what he was led to believe were four tickets:

“The person at (the) other end of email – back and forth – seemed legit. Answering questions. We ended up wiring the money in – $10,000 for four tickets.”

Hopefully the guy at least thought he was paying for some VIP tickets at that price.

It wasn’t too long after the Texas man sent over the money that he found out it was a scam. Though the ticket prices were steep, he probably thought he was just doing a kind thing and helping donate to Texas flood relief. But in the end, the concert he thought he was going to – and the charity that was supposed to receive their money – didn’t work out:

“Then we found out it was a scam. We had lost $10,000. I was not concerned about losing the money. That’s a lot of money, but I was concerned that someone stole money from people who were suffering in our state.”

There was one letter that was different in (the) email in this Facebook post from the email on George’s website. That was all it took. From that one letter, the money was wired to the wrong (place). The charity got nothing.”

An absolutely horrible scene all around.

Losing $10,000 is nothing to sneeze at, but it’s a travesty that someone preyed on someone who was just trying to help those in need. It might be the lowest, vile scam scheme that I’ve ever seen. And to think how much that money could have helped the people who have had their lives turned upside down from the catastrophic flood that ripped through South-Central Texas earlier in July.

The victim of the scam directed this statement towards the person who scammed him out of $10,000:

“Tragedies bring out the best – Texas in particular. It also brings out the worst, reprehensible in people. There will always be people (who) are unscrupulous. Want to take advantage. It doesn’t matter how tragic. I think they should get life in prison. It is one of the worst things.”

Amen to that.

Sometimes scam seem obvious, but one like this one could have fooled even the most careful consumer. It’s good to remember this release that the Federal Trade Commission put out in 2018 warning people to stay alert when being asked to transfer money online:

“They’re asking fans to send money for all kinds of supposed reasons – like claiming a prize, donating to a charity, or giving help of some kind. Some celebs do raise money for legitimate causes. But you want to be sure the cause – and the person asking you to support it – are real.

Imposter scams come in many varieties, but they all work the same way: a scammer pretends to be someone you trust to convince you to send them money. And that’s exactly what these celebrity imposters are trying to do.”

Always make sure you double check (or maybe even triple check) before you send your hard earned money over to someone else.The post Texas Couple Scammed Out Of $10,000 Thinking They Were Buying Tickets To George Strait’s Benefit Concert: “They Should Get Life In Prison” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.