SHARON, Conn.—Michael Baldwin, education and community director at the Sharon Playhouse wants to alert patrons to a new scam that is affecting community theaters.
Sharon Playhouse, like other theaters and performance venues across the country, is being targeted by third-party scammers who attempt to profit off its ticket sales. Last summer, many of its patrons visited fraudulent websites, purchasing tickets to its shows at inflated prices, often for invalid tickets.
The scam operators pay for placement—and often increase their placement expenditures during peak demand periods to outrank legitimate organizations like the playhouse in Google search results.
“For example,” he said, “if you search ‘Sharon Playhouse Swingtime Canteen,’ paid or optimized scam listings can quickly follow or even appear above our own site, and they are designed to look credible and capture transactions before patrons reach our site. We have reported these instances to Google, but the volume and frequency of new fraudulent listings make this an ongoing challenge.”
To help combat this issue, he urges patrons to only purchase tickets through the playhouse’s official website at www.sharonplayhouse.org. He notes that the playhouse’s highest ticket price for all MainStage and YouthStage shows is $55. Anyone encountering ticket prices exceeding this amount for MainStage or YouthStage shows, is probably being scammed, however (special fundraising events like such as the Spotlight Gala may have a higher price tag.
He urges community members to remain vigilant when purchasing tickets for both local shows and performances in New York City and beyond. “The best practice is to ensure you are purchasing directly from the producing organization rather than third-party sites or scammers,” he said.