Law enforcement will target scalpers this week at the U.S. Open tournament in Oakmont, but that won’t protect golf fans seeking to buy tickets online, officials said.
“Someone will get scammed,” said Michael Overholt, a Pittsburgh police computer crimes detective.

“We sit here in our offices and look at our computer screens, and it’s part of our environment. It makes us feel comfortable,” Overholt said. “But you’ve got to shop online as if you were in that seller’s store. He might be sitting in a basement somewhere in his boxer shorts smoking a cigar.”

Many tickets on Friday were selling for prices below face value — $95 per day for general admission tickets to the rounds Thursday through Sunday — on sites such as craigslist and eBay. StubHub.com and RazorGator.com had full week packages listed at $1,000 or more. . .

Insomniac browser for ticketing professionals

Though bargains can be found, purchasing tickets from a Web site can be risky, officials said.

Some scammers will sell tickets, collect the money and never deliver the tickets, Overholt said. Others will set up fraudulent sites aimed at collecting sensitive information for identity theft, he said. (Full Story)