Two University of Michigan juniors launched a free app to let students buy and sell game tickets without risking a scam.

Isaac Gardner, a business junior, and Zachary DeVivo, an engineering junior, released Ticko Tickets on Tuesday, Aug. 25, The Michigan Daily reported. The app restricts sign-ups to verified umich.edu email addresses and processes payments through Stripe, which Gardner called "the industry-standard payment processor."

Gardner said the idea came from his own frustration. He could not get season tickets his freshman or sophomore year and resorted to buying through Snapchat, GroupMe and scalpers outside the stadium.

"I found that there really wasn't an adequate way to get affordable student tickets," Gardner told The Michigan Daily.

The University of Michigan's own Safe Computing office warns that scammers impersonate real students on social media, request nonrefundable payment and sometimes steal buyers' MCard images to run further scams.

Ticko tries to block those tactics. Every user must verify a umich.edu email through Google Workspace, and DeVivo said the app also checks credentials directly in its code. According to the app's Apple App Store listing, all ticket transfers run through the Michigan Athletics portal, and Stripe holds payment until the transfer is confirmed.

The app offers two modes. Sellers can list a ticket at a fixed price, or buyers can submit a bid through Apple Pay, which places a hold on the card but does not charge until the seller accepts. Gardner said the bidding system has saved buyers about 20% on tickets, though he did not cite specific data to support the figure.

LSA freshman Jules Heskia said he placed a bid and a seller accepted it about five hours later.

Gardner compared the app's model to Depop, the secondhand fashion marketplace. DeVivo said students face identity theft and scams when buying tickets through informal channels like Snapchat and GroupMe.

Ticko is free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for the fall season. The app is operated by TICKO, LLC, and is not affiliated with the University of Michigan.