To see a video about counterfeit tickets, click here.Nearly 100 counterfeit football tickets were sold to people attending last season’s Florida game. And state police recently arrested a scammer selling LSU tickets.With high-profile games approaching against Georgia on Saturday and Alabama on Nov. 8, the Athletic Department is warning fans to be on the lookout for counterfeits.Brian Broussard, LSU ticket manager, said counterfeit tickets haven’t been a problem this season.”There are groups around the country that [make counterfeit tickets],” Broussard said. “They go to major sporting events, print a few hundred tickets and make them look as close as possible to the actual ticket — if not almost identical. They make their money and get out of town — it’s a nationwide problem right now.”After a joint investigation between the Louisiana State Police and the LSU Police Department, Tommy R. Emmons II, 30, of Abita Springs was arrested Sunday on charges of theft and computer fraud.Emmons is accused of advertising and negotiating the sale of LSU football season tickets online, then collecting money without producing any tickets. He allegedly committed the crime on two separate occasions in St. Tammany Parish. “The victims actually contacted us,” said Trooper Russell Graham, Louisiana State Police public information officer. “Cooperation between the two agencies goes a long way with these investigations.”Graham said the number of complaints the state police receives about counterfeit tickets increased with the demand for football tickets during the last few years.”The tickets look so close that you just need to know who you’re buying from,” Broussard said. “My recommendation is to watch [the game] on TV if you don’t know. Don’t take the chance.”Broussard said officials from the University of South Carolina and Auburn University told him they found several counterfeit tickets at their games against LSU this season.”We have premiere games on the schedule, and we just want fans to be aware that there is the possibility of it occurring here as well,” Broussard said. All the counterfeit tickets found at the Florida game last year were public season tickets. People purchased the tickets from Web sites or from people selling the tickets outside the stadium before the game.It is illegal to sell tickets above face value in Louisiana. LSU student football tickets are $12, and public tickets are $45. Though the University hasn’t had problems with students selling counterfeit tickets in the past, many students sold or were attempting to sell student tickets to the Florida game last year for nearly 63 times their face value.Eric Norman, associate dean of student advocacy and accountability, said about 20 students were caught selling Florida tickets for $200 to $750.Students caught scalping lose their football tickets privileges for the season and are put on one-year disciplinary probation, Norman said. They may even have to attend and write an essay about an ethical decision-making workshop as well as facing community service duty.”They lose their ability to go to the games, which is quite a privilege here,” Norman said. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]