Entry first. Money second.

How do I buy a race entry without getting scammed?

Don't pay anyone until the race organiser has put the entry in your name. The seller starts the transfer in the organiser's own system. You then get an email from the organiser, not from the seller, and you finish the transfer there. Once you're registered under your own name, you pay.

At many races you never pay the seller at all: the organiser charges you its own entry price and refunds the seller. If a race works that way, anyone asking you to send them money for it is not following the race's process.

A seller who wants the money first, or says the transfer can only start after you pay, is the most common sign of a scam. Walk away.

What do race-entry scams look like?

They follow a few patterns, and organisers warn about them every time a race sells out:

• Payment is wanted before the organiser has sent you anything.
• You're offered a screenshot of a bib, a QR code or a confirmation email instead of a transfer. One real entry can be sold to several people this way.
• A stranger replies to your "looking for an entry" post, often with a story about a relative who can no longer travel. The same message tends to appear under many posts for many races.
• The seller asks for gift cards, crypto or PayPal Friends and Family.
• The race doesn't allow transfers, or its transfer window has already closed. If the organiser can't move the entry, nobody can sell it to you.
• The seller offers to post you the bib so you can run under their name.

Organisers say the same. The Gold Coast Marathon warns that scammers get more active once distances sell out, and that its official process is the only way to transfer. Melbourne Marathon says that a request for payment or personal details outside its registration platform is not valid.

Can I just run with someone else's bib?

No. A bib that hasn't been transferred still belongs to the original runner. The start list carries their name and their emergency and medical details, your result goes to them, and most organisers' terms forbid it. Only the organiser's transfer process puts the entry in your name.

Some races don't allow transfers at all. They're listed, with what each one's terms say, in races that don't allow transfers.

How should I pay the seller?

Only after the organiser has confirmed the entry is yours. By then you know exactly what you're paying for, so a PayID or bank transfer is fine. Check that the name on the account matches the name on the entry you just received.

Never use gift cards or crypto. PayPal Friends and Family has no buyer protection, so a payment sent that way can't be recovered if something goes wrong.

What do I do if I've been scammed?

Call your bank first. The sooner they know, the better the chance of stopping or recalling the payment. Then report it:

• Australia: report it to Scamwatch. If you lost money, also report it to police through ReportCyber. IDCARE can help if you shared identity documents.
• New Zealand: report it to Netsafe (0508 638 723), and to police on 105.
• Tell the race organiser, and report the account to the platform where you met the seller.

Ignore anyone who offers to recover the money for a fee. That is usually a second scam.

Is BibSwap safer than a Facebook group?

It's built around the rule above. Every race page shows the organiser's transfer process, deadline and fee, with the date we last checked them. Every transfer completes in the organiser's own system. Where the seller sets the price, they must show proof of entry before the listing goes live, and both runners' email addresses stay private until they agree to connect.

What we don't do: hold money, verify identities, or reverse a payment. The rule still applies on BibSwap. The entry moves first, and the money second.

Find your race in the Race Index to see its transfer rules and any entries listed, or browse every entry listed now.