Scammed 49ers fan going to Super Bowl

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HAYWARD, Calif., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A San Francisco 49ers fan who lost $5,900 in a Super Bowl ticket scam is heading to New Orleans for the game, through the generosity of Ticketmaster.

Sharon Osgood of Hayward, Calif., 49, a 49ers' season ticket-holder, arranged to purchase four tickets to the game from a Baltimore Ravens fan on the Craigslist website, only to receive a taunting, "Go Ravens! LOL!" in a FedEx package but no tickets, the San Jose, Calif., Mercury News reported.

The 49ers and the Ravens will play in the Super Bowl in New Orleans Sunday.

After her story was published, Ticketmaster chief executive officer Nathan Hubbard called Hayward and arranged to provide four tickets to the game, as well as breakfast Sunday with former quarterback Troy Aikman.

The 49ers also called with a free ticket offer. She now has five tickets to the game, the newspaper said.

"I can't put into words how grateful I am," Osgood said.

Ticketmaster said it hopes ticket purchasers will use its service, rather than resort to suspicious transactions on the Internet.

"I wish I could tell you that we don't hear this story a lot, but we do," said Hubbard. "There are a lot of places that fans go to buy tickets that aren't safe."