A Saugus man is being praised for helping Hub detectives nab a scam artist they say sold him the counterfeit New England Patriots tickets he bought as a gift for his 10-year-old special needs son — and they will be getting a special thank you from the team in return.

“I just don’t want to see any other family have to go through what we did,” said Shawn Phipps, who went to Craigslist earlier this month to buy his son, Dylan, who has cerebral palsy, tickets to a Pats game as a reward for making honor roll.

The seller he contacted online, Phipps said, agreed to meet him outside the California Pizza Kitchen at the Prudential Center and sold him four tickets to the Nov. 8 game against the Washington Redskins for $700.

But when he got to Gillette Stadium, Phipps said he was told the tickets were fake.

“I went into total panic mode,” Phipps, 41, recalled. “I wasn’t going to let my son miss out, so I had to go out and get another set of tickets — which cost me another $700.”

After Phipps reported the incident to the Patriots and the police, Phipps’ cousin, Michael Florentino, 30, began scouring Craigslist for anyone selling tickets to Monday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Sure enough, Florentino spotted an ad he said was nearly identical to the one Phipps responded to.

“I contacted the guy and said, ‘Can you send me a picture of the tickets?’ and he sent me the same exact tickets he gave to Shawn,” Florentino said. “The only change was the name at the top.”

After coordinating with Boston police, Florentino agreed to meet the seller outside the CVS at South Station on Saturday to buy four tickets to the Bills game for $700. But instead of Florentino, a team of Hub detectives were the ones who showed up.

Shamorie Washington, 21, of the Bronx, N.Y., was arrested on larceny charges and arraigned in Boston Municipal Court Monday morning. Boston police now say Washington has been “linked to additional incidents” of fake Patriots ticket sales, including one reported after the Oct. 25 home game against the New York Jets.

“When we got to the police station, they said, ‘We’ve been looking for this guy,’” Florentino said. “I don’t even care about the tickets or the money, I’m just glad we were able to keep this guy from selling fake tickets to any other Patriots fans.”

In return for helping police track down the alleged scammer, Patriots spokesman Stacey James told the Herald the team will be providing Phipps with free tickets to an upcoming game.

“Robert Kraft will provide two tickets to them as a thank-you for working with the Boston police department and helping them catch a counterfeiter,” James said.

The message from Boston police for other fans looking to buy tickets online: “Be wary of purchasing counterfeit tickets. Fans who purchase tickets from a secondary source are taking a chance.”