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As the curtain on Hamilton rises, beware of scams

Posted at 7:05 PM, Mar 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-12 19:05:07-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — The marquee is up. Hamilton is set to take the stage in its debut at the Fisher tonight.

The national fervor around the Tony award winning musical makes it the most highly anticipated show to hit the Detroit theater.

Like Hamilton, you don't have to 'throw away your shot' at tickets. The tickets are not sold out. But they are in high demand, meaning scam attempts are expected to rise. So we’re talking to Scott Myers of Broadway in Detroit about what to look out for.

For one, if you get tickets and they’re printed out on a 8.5 by 11 piece of paper, that’s going to be a major warning sign. That’s because the Fisher theater didn’t do any print at home tickets for this show. They’ll either be on your mobile phone or a physical ticket.

Physical tickets are all over third party sites like Craigslist but Myers says you'll have to beware of bogus impostors.

"Someone could take the time and create a ticket stock that looks and seems exactly like this.... until that bar code is scanned," said Myers.

That’s why he says avoid third party sites all together stick to buying off of Broadway in Detroit's website, or Ticketmaster resale. On those sites, tickets are verified legitimate - even if sold by an individual seller - so you can shop worry-free.

Check the date of the event on the ticket and make sure you're not being offered a ticket a tickets for a bogus show not even scheduled.

And even if you have a ticket, you still need to exercise caution. People get excited sometimes about the show that they’ll snap a picture of the tickets with the bar code and post it on social media to show friends and family. But that’s terrible idea because scammers can copy that code use your ticket before you do. If you’re ever taking a photo, cover that bar code that way people can’t duplicate your ticket.

If you're looking for cheap tickets and feeling lucky, try your hand at the Hamilton lottery. For every show, there will be 40 tickets at $10 a pop up for grabs.

To enter, use the official Hamilton app or the online form at the official online lottery site -- www.hamiltonmusical.com.

The lottery opens at 11am two days before each show. You’ll find out out whether you were randomly selected through a notification (via email or text) the day before the show. You can enter the lottery for as many shows as you want.