The deadly July 4 floods in Central Texas have dominated headlines for weeks, with 137 people dead at last count. Wanting to lend a hand to his home state, country legend George Strait has organized a benefit concert to raise funds for flooding victims. Unfortunately, natural disasters bring out both the best and worst in people. In an example of the latter, a Texas couple recently lost $10,000 on what they believed were tickets to Strait’s upcoming show.
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George Strait Ticket Scam Victim Is Warning Others
It all started, as many scams do, with a social media post. This one was advertising a George Strait fundraising concert in Boerne, Texas, just north of San Antonio.
“Description, everything seemed legitimate,” an unnamed man told the NBC affiliate News 4 San Antonio.
Further complicating matters, Strait is indeed hosting the “Strait to the Heart” benefit concert on Sunday, July 27, at Estancia at Thunder Valley indoor arena. So when the man and his wife did their research, the post appeared to check out.
“I got online and started checking different websites,” he said. “Not a single mention of a scam based around this. Went to [George Strait’s] website, looked at wording and it was the same. Graphics—it was the same. It looked like George’s website.”
After exchanging several emails with the seller, who also seemed legitimate, the couple wired $10,000 for four tickets to the sold-out show.
Unfortunately, they soon learned the post had been a scam. By changing just one letter in the email address, the scammer had bilked the couple—and the flood victims—out of $10,000.
Texas Scamming Victim Calls For Stiff Penalties
Less concerned with his own loss than that of George Strait’s charity, the victim had some harsh words for the perpetrator of this scheme.
“I think they should get life in prison,” he said. “It is one of the worst things.”
The man added, “”That’s a lot of money, but I was concerned that someone stole money from people who were suffering in our state… I won’t get any money back, but I don’t want to see anyone else get taken like this.”
Featured image by Rich Fury/Getty Images
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