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Woman Accused In Theme Park Ticket Scam

POSTED: 6:02 pm PDT September 10, 2009
UPDATED: 7:29 pm PDT September 10, 2009

Prosecutors and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department accused a woman of using the Internet to her advantage all summer by duping people into buying fake theme park tickets.

The sheriff's department had a warrant for Jacquelyn Carman's arrest for over a month, and this week she was arrested.

The 10News I-Team has tracked Carman since July when she was accused of selling Disneyland and Legoland gift cards online. She allegedly stole the cards from grocery stores. The problem for the buyers was that the cards were worthless since they weren't validated, the sheriff's department said.

Prosecutors allege Carman sold fake tickets to other theme parks, including SeaWorld and Universal Studios. She allegedly posted the tickets for sale on Web sites like Craigslist, met her victims in parking lots and always asked for cash.

One victim, a mother who planned to take her family to Disneyland, told the I-Team she paid Carman $180 for four Disneyland three-day park-hopper tickets. However, when the mother got to Disneyland she found out the tickets were fakes.

The number of Carman's alleged victims is still unknown, and prosecutors said they are still investigating the ticket sales.

To spot a scam, experts said consumers should watch out for the following red flags: the tickets are much cheaper than their retail price; the seller claims to have a few days left on a multi-day pass; the seller has an excuse why they can't use the tickets; and consumers are they have to pay cash and meet in a public place.

Ticket buyers are advised to never meet sellers at night or in a place without security cameras. Buyers should also get the seller's license plate number and driver's license number.

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