The proliferation of fraudulent tickets across sporting and entertainment events has created urgent challenges for consumers and industry stakeholders alike. This research investigates consumers' ability to distinguish between authentic and counterfeit event tickets and identifies the psychological and contextual factors that affect fraud detection. Across three studies (N = 604), participants evaluated real and fake ticket images representing common scam types, such as misspelled text and non-existent seating. Using Signal Detection Theory (SDT), results from Study 1 revealed low sensitivity (d′ = 0.18), with only 42% of fake tickets correctly identified and 36% of real tickets misclassified as fake. Performance was especially poor for non-existent seating scams (d′ = -0.05), compared to misspelled word scams (d′ = 0.35). Study 2 showed that adding time pressure and ticket scarcity did not significantly affect fraud detection performance, suggesting cognitive rather than contextual limitations in scam detection. In Study 3, participants who received scam awareness instructions showed significantly higher detection sensitivity and reduced false alarms. Confidence in judgments predicted accuracy only when scam cues were visually salient. Regression analyses revealed that traditional predictors—such as analytical reasoning, impulsivness, or prior victimization—did not significantly improve detection, though confidence and likelihood to purchase tickets consistently influenced outcomes. These findings highlight the limitations of consumers' natural ability to detect fraudulent tickets and underscore the need for targeted interventions, cognitive training, and improved platform-level protections to reduce consumer vulnerability in digital marketplaces.