How to avoid scams when buying Celine Dion Paris concert tickets

Singer Celine Dion performs onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Tickets for Celine Dion’s Paris residency go on general sale April 10, with pre-sales beginning April 7. Here’s what buyers need to know to avoid being scammed.

Scammers thrive on excitement, says lawyer Alexandre Plourde of Options Consommateurs, a consumer protection non-profit association. When a beloved artist announces a major show, he said, fans want tickets at any cost — and fraudsters know it.

Cybersecurity expert Terry Cutler of Cyology Labs said scammers use urgency to push buyers into making mistakes.

“The tickets are going to go fast. They rely on this urgency that if you don’t act right now, you’re going to lose out. And people don’t step back and look at where they’re buying these tickets from. Is it a verified platform or just some shady site? That’s where most people are being scammed right now,” he said.

Both experts say to only purchase from verified websites and to treat social media ads and marketplace listings, like Facebook Marketplace, with suspicion.

Cutler also warns about e-transfers, saying they offer buyers no protection if something goes wrong. “If you can, also purchase via PayPal, because you can get goods and services protection if ever you end up being in a scam or whatever. PayPal will do an investigation for you to try and retrieve the money,” he said.

Both experts say to never rush a purchase. Scammers move fast and attach themselves to whatever is popular. Plourde says his office gets flooded every summer with complaints about fake listings for camper vans and rental cottages.

And basic advice applies: If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.