MILWAUKEE, Wis. — What began as a frustrating fight to access concert tickets nearly turned into a financial scam for one Chicago-area mother after she sought a refund online.
Jenna Cataldi said she purchased tickets months in advance to take her 12-year-old twins to Wednesday night's Freya Skye concert at Landmark Credit Union Live, the new venue adjacent to Fiserv Forum. Instead of a memorable night with her daughters, Cataldi said she spent hours trying to obtain tickets that never arrived and later found herself targeted by someone impersonating a customer service representative.
TMJ4 News reporter Jenna Rae has the more on the ordeal in the video below:
"I traveled six hours. I got my tickets in February," one concertgoer told TMJ4 while waiting outside the venue.
Cataldi said she was told her tickets would be delivered by 5 p.m. the day of the show, but as concertgoers gathered outside the venue, she still had not received valid tickets.
According to Cataldi, StubHub representatives repeatedly told her the tickets could only be released to Android users. Cataldi and her daughters don't have Android devices.
"The agent this time was telling me the same thing, it could only be released to Android users," Cataldi said.
She said she spent hours on the phone attempting to resolve the issue but was unable to get help.
"The box office was just like, 'there's nothing we can do for you,'" Cataldi said. "At that point, my daughters were just inconsolable."
Cataldi was not alone. Hundreds of other fans reported similar problems at the venue.
"They didn't let us come in," another concertgoer said.
After more than an hour, fans were eventually allowed into the venue without tickets being scanned.
In a statement to TMJ4, Live Nation and Ticketmaster said "major resale marketplaces allowed scalpers to sell invalid tickets" for the concert, affecting fans at the door."
A social media message offered hope
After the concert, Cataldi said her friend's husband made a post on X criticizing StubHub's handling of the situation.
"He made a comment like, 'Hundreds of people weren't able to get in that night. StubHub, you really messed up,'" Cataldi explained.
Shortly afterward, someone claiming to be associated with StubHub reached out to that friend's husband on X.
"From what he saw, it was a StubHub representative reaching out to him. 'We're so sorry. We want to rectify the situation,'" Cataldi said.
The account with the name 'Claim Tech Solutions' used a StubHub logo as its profile image and operated under the X handle @StubHubHelpFix.
After exchanging direct messages, Cataldi said she received a phone call from someone claiming to work for StubHub and was going to help her with the refund process.
"They reached out to me and were very kind and so apologetic," she said. "There was just this glimmer of hope."
That hope quickly disappeared.
Refund attempt raises red flags
Cataldi said the caller instructed her to download LemFi, a financial app used to send and receive money.
She said she was told to enter her banking information in order to receive a refund, so she did.
"He was like, 'OK, I need you to enter the amount 498,' and I was like, 'Whoa, wait a minute, that's not right,'" Cataldi recalled.
Then she began receiving bank notifications.
"That's when I could see they had already had my bank information from me entering it and the Chase notifications were coming through $100 here, $50 here, $498 here," she said. "And I was like, 'Nope, I'm sorry. I'm not doing this.'"
Cataldi said the caller immediately hung up.
TMJ4 later called the same phone number. The person who answered claimed to work for StubHub, but then hung up after we started asking questions.
Messages sent to the account on X were not returned. Today, the account is continuing to respond to users seeking help from the actual StubHub account.
Lighthouse
Sellers and resellers point fingers after hundreds of Freya Skye fans had issues
StubHub works to remediate the issue
Cataldi said she immediately went to her bank and closed her accounts.
"So frustrating," she said. "Now, I just feel like I'm at a loss. What do you do moving forward, 'cause it feels like you're not safe anyway you choose. It seems like everybody's out to get you."
Since then, she said she received an email from the real StubHub offering a refund.
A StubHub spokesperson told TMJ4 that Cataldi will receive a refund equal to 120% of her purchase under the company's policy.
The company also warned customers that its only official support account on X is @TeamStubHub and said consumers should be cautious of impersonator accounts claiming to provide customer service.
Cataldi said the experience has left her feeling vulnerable.
"I have no words for it," she said. "Just awful and so disappointed in the way everything was handled."
The incident serves as a reminder for consumers to verify they are communicating with official customer service channels before sharing personal or banking information online.
The Better Business Bureau offers solutions to prevent this
Lisa Schiller with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Wisconsin, told TMJ4 News that the BBB frequently warns consumers about impostor social media accounts designed to look like reputable ticket sales companies.
Here's how the BBB says you can verify whether you're speaking with a legitimate representative:
1. Initiate contact yourself
Never trust an account that reaches out to you first via direct message or replies to your public post.
2. Go to the official source
Close the social media app and navigate directly to the ticket vendor's official website.
3. Use their listed channels for contact information
Use the "Contact Us" page, official live chat, or phone numbers directly listed on their verified website.
4. Check the social media profile closely
Look at the handle, look for extra letters, underscores or numbers. Check the account age and followers. Legitimate companies usually have older accounts with thousands or millions of followers.
5. Watch for what they're asking of you
The BBB recommends you break off contact immediately if the account is demanding unusual payment methods or asking for passwords or full card numbers.
6. Cross-reference with trusted verification tools
Before purchasing tickets, the BBB said you should check the BBB Scam Tracker to search the company and then use Verified Ticket Source to check your third-party broker and see if they're vetted.
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