MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Authorities are looking for a way to prosecute scammers who sold 118 bogus tickets to an April 29 Green Day concert at Verizon Wireless Arena.

Officials say five people on the West Coast bought legitimate tickets online, then used computers to alter them to resemble higher-priced tickets with better seats.

But Jason Perry, the arena’s director of sales and marketing, said the purchasers failed to remove their names and Ticketmaster accounts from the tickets, unwittingly giving police a leg up.

“A detailed investigation is pending,” police Sgt. Mark Fowke told the New Hampshire Union Leader. “If there’s any way they can be prosecuted, they will be prosecuted.”

Perry said the victims bought the tickets from agencies and scalpers. He said there was no evidence the agencies knew the tickets were counterfeit. When the ticketholders got to the arena, hand-held scanners indicated the tickets were for the wrong day or wrong time.

The band’s management let people with the bogus tickets buy real ones at the $36 face value to sit in partly obstructed seats near the stage. About 90 people took the offer.

“The ones that didn’t were mainly teenagers who didn’t have the cash,” Perry said. “Some people were extremely irate and others were more understanding and knew they were taking a risk.”

Reselling tickets is legal in New Hampshire.

Front Row Ticket in Manchester, which bought and resold six bogus tickets, has stopped buying tickets printed from home computers because of the experience. Owner Scott Soterion said he refunded his buyers’ money and offered them deals on future concert tickets.

He said he bought the six tickets for $75 apiece and sold them for $95 each.