Spring has sprung and the highly anticipated Baseball season is back!! The Toronto Blue Jays had their home opener on April 8 th and attracted 46,159 spectators at the Rogers Centre. Since the Jays made a dramatic post-season run in 2015, attendance has surged and the excitement level is high for the upcoming season. While the Jays are drawing enthusiastic fans from across the country, fans should be wary of opportunistic online criminals who aim to trick people into purchasing fraudulent tickets. In order to avoid the disappointment and grievances experienced by fans when they are told their tickets are fake, sports fans and concert-goers should be sure to purchase their tickets through safe and secure online payment processing systems such as Ticketmaster.ca or legitimate event ticket websites.
The History of The Toronto Blue Jays
Thirty-nine years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays played their first official game during a snowstorm on April 7 th , 1977 and the franchise has flourished ever since. Today, the Jays are the only team outside of the US to participate in Major League Baseball, since the Montreal Expos moved to become the Washington Nationals in 2005. For a refresher on Blue Jays history, please see the timeline below:
1970s’ – Toronto was selected as the city in Canada to expand into the American League, and the name Toronto Blue Jays was selected based on a naming contest in which 4,000 names were entered. The first ever Jays game at Exhibition Stadium was a memorable experience with a win over the Chicago White Sox. Nearing the end of the 70s, the Jays recruited two top players, Jim Clancy and David Stieb who proved to be vital to the team’s success later on.
1980s’ – The 80s proved to be a significant yet tumultuous decade for the Jays as they had lots of ups and downs. In 1982, the Jays had their first solid season, and finished 6 th in the East out of 7 teams, which marked the first year of the Jays not finishing at the bottom. In 1985, the Jays won their first American League (AL) East division title. In 1987, George Bell was named the AL’s Most Valuable Player, the first Jay to do so. In 1988, the season had numerous highlights as first baseman Fred McGriff hitting 34 home runs and Dave Stieb had back-to-back starts in which he lost a no-hitter with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning. In 1989, SkyDome’s retractable roof opened during mid-season.
1990s’ – The 90s was a defining era for the Jays in which they achieved the pinnacle of success. The Jays won back-to-back World Series Championships in 92 and 93. Dave Winfield led the team to win the 92 World Series with his game-winning two-run double to left field defeating the Atlanta Braves. Similarly, in 93, newcomer Joe Carter became a Jays hero as he hit his famous walk-off home run defeating the Philadelphia Phillies.
2000’s – The Jays experienced a downturn between 2000 to 2009, mostly because of frequent changes in unstable management and a revolving door of underperforming talent, so the Jays never made the post-season during this decade. In 2005, SkyDome was renovated extensively to what is now known as the Rogers Centre.
2010’s to present – After a lackluster decade, the Jays made a resurgence after acquiring some exciting new players such as Jose Bautista, and performances throughout the seasons started to pick up. After not being able to make it to the post-season since 1993, Jays finally made the playoffs in 2015… and who can target the dramatic moment of Bautisa’s bat flip as the country erupted!
Blue Jays Tickets vs. Safe and Secure Online Payment Systems
Since the Jays’ return to playoff glory, heightened demand has made it for more difficult for fans to get their hands on these tickets. As a matter of fact, the increased difficulty in obtaining tickets invites scammers with the opportunity to take advantage of these loyal fans. Several crimes have been reported by the police around the GTA where online sellers entice fans with inexpensive tickets and ask them to pay either in cash or through email money transfer. For example, a fraud was reported when an Innisfil fan was scammed $700 dollars by purchasing online tickets without ever getting them after payment was complete (CTV Barrie). This is not the first time fans have been lied to in regards to sport events tickets. Often times, fans fall prey to these crimes because they are passionate supporters who are attracted by advertised inexpensive tickets and the ability to purchase them at a perceived bargain. Nevertheless, consumers need to remember to always purchase their tickets through safe and secure online payment systems that are protected and encrypted by trusted third parties such as McAfee and Norton. Consumers can also trust VeriSign because it facilitates safe and secure online payment systems infrastructures where transactions can be processed with SSL encryption.
Types of Ticketing Scams
To combat the tricks that scammers have for selling tickets, there are several ways to purchase safely and still be part of the action of your favourite team:
Verify tickets: Check with official ticket retailers to see if tickets to the event are still open. Also check with the official team page for availability.
Never wire money online: Money transfers are hard to trace and once the money is gone, it’s gone for good. Pay with a credit card because it is considered as one of the most safe and secure online payment systems in case something goes wrong, as the consumer is protected.
Use available tools and resources: When using sites like eBay, take note of the seller’s track record and reputation, and read the online reviews.
An Insider Look at MONEXgroup’s Safe and Secure Online Payment Systems
One of the strongest selling points of MONEXgroup’s POS solutions is the intricacies and scrutinies we take in ensuring our security system is robust and cannot be breached. Our E-commerce solutions present safe and secure online payment systems for our merchants. MONEXgroup’s safe and secure online payment systems include an integrated E-commerce gateway which can be processed anywhere, from anyone. We encourage our merchants to access their online store from anywhere and process orders anytime because E-Commerce stores are open 24/7- much like our customer service. At MONEXgroup we offer two E-commerce options for our merchant accounts: Online Payment Gateway Solution and Hosted Checkout Solution.
What are the benefits of partnering with MONEXgroup’s Safe and Secure Online Payment Systems and other Payment Solutions?
Let’s take a look at the two most popular E-Commerce solutions we provide to our merchants:
Online Payment Gateway Solution Ensures Safe and Secure Online Payment Systems
Our Online Payment Gateway Solution is a fully customizable payment gateway for sophisticated or basic shopping cart integration; it enables safe and secure online payment systems processing directly on the merchant’s website. This gateway facilitates enhanced shopping cart functionality, offering billing and customer support features.
Some benefits of the Online Payment Gateway Solution include:
- Accepts Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover Network® and Gift Cards
- A PCI Compliant, secure and reliable solution for protecting cardholder information
- Generates E-Receipts and communicates them with customers, sends alerts over their payment and delivery cycle
- Seamless software upgrades ensure your business is always compliant with ever-changing industry security standards and regulations
- Advanced encryption technology and fraud detection software safeguard sensitive data
- Supports Verified by Visa and MasterCard SureCode plugins, providing protection from chargebacks
Hosted Checkout Solution for Simplified Safe and Secure Online Payment Systems
Our Hosted Checkout Solution is a simple integration for any website regardless of the back-end, the E-Commerce Hosted Checkout Solution allows merchants to accept online payments by effectively outsourcing the secure processing of transactions off-site. Through Hosted Checkout Solutions, merchants can save time and money by adding a highly secured and PCI Compliant plug-and-play checkout into their hosted payment pages with a customizable checkout.
Advantages of the Hosted Checkout Solution:
- Accepts Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover Network® and Gift Cards
- Provides online shopping websites with additional protection layer by leveraging a proven secure and reliable hosted checkout solution
- Easily integrated and reliable checkout solution for quick online payment processing
- PCI Compliant and secure add-on which is incorporated to any webpage which requires a hosted payment checkout solution
- Improves the online shopping experience with simple and speedy processing at checkout
When partnering with the number one Canadian merchant services in Canada; MONEXgroup will ensure you are equipped with the latest, safe and secure online payment systems with low cost. Request a Cost Comparison Analysis today.
Author: Lindsey Lu, Marketing Communication Specialist, MONEXgroup
Contact Info: insights@monexgroup.com