By EVA THOMAS/ Murphy News Service

At least six different thefts by swindlers were reported to have occurred at the Vikings game Oct. 18 when tickets used to enter the TCF Bank Stadium gates appeared to be invalid.

Two of the victims were denied entry at the gate with tickets they had purchased from a scalper near Oak and University. In both cases, the tickets had already been scanned into the system and then resold to the victims the same day. This is known as a “pass out” ticket. Both victims had a similar description of the scalper.

Two similar incidents occurred with tickets purchased from Stub Hub. One victim purchased the tickets on Oct. 16 around 6 p.m. Records show that the original seller printed the tickets on Oct. 17, invalidating the barcodes on the tickets purchased from Stub Hub. In a similar instance, another victim’s tickets were invalid and found to have been reprinted.

A victim who had purchased tickets from Craigslist was denied entry because one of the tickets had already been used. In another case, three out of the four tickets purchased from Vivid Seats were allowed entry. The fourth ticket was invalid because it had been used to enter the stadium at 10:56 a.m. It is believed that the ticket used by the victim was a copy of the one used to enter earlier that morning.

To avoid problems with invalid tickets, police say it is best to purchase tickets from the official team website or from the ticket window directly.

Reporter Eva Thomas is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.