Crime & Safety

Update: Local Couple Scores Free Tickets to Super Bowl After Falling Victim to Scam

A local couple duped for $5,900 will receive free tickets after Ticketmaster caught wind of the story Tuesday.

Updated 5:05 p.m.

A Hayward couple that shelled out $5,900 for Super Bowl tickets in an online scam will be going to the big game after all, according to media reports.

Hayward resident Sharon Osgood, a 49er faithful, responded to a Craigslist ad and wired the money to a Baltimore Ravens fan in exchange for what were purported to be four tickets to Sunday’s Super Bowl. Instead, she received a promo flyer for the match with a note that read, “Go Ravens! LOL!,” the Mercury News reports.

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Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard caught wind of the cruel scam after the story went viral Tuesday and contacted Osgood with a generous offer: four tickets for Osgood, her boyfriend and other relatives — plus breakfast with NFL legend Troy Aikman — according to the Mercury News.

Osgood was also contacted by the San Francisco 49ers’ office, who offered her tickets as well. Altogether, the unfortunate-turned-lucky couple netted five tickets, though they’re still out of the $5,900 they lost in the scam. However, Osgood has filed a police report in hopes to recoup the loss and catch the scammer, the newspaper reports.

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The scammer told Osgood that he was a tax attorney in Florida and couldn’t make the game due to his wife’s pregnancy. Osgood and her boyfriend exchanged emails, text messages and phone conversations with the man for a week before agreeing to wire the money, according to the newspaper.

Osgood told the Mercury News that her and her crew of 49er faithfuls planned on leaving Tuesday night in their RV for the Super Bowl, which is being held in New Orleans on Sunday.

"I can't believe this is happening. I can't put into words how grateful I am," Osgood, who withheld her name in initial reports, told the newspaper.

Read the full story here.

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