Bengaluru, Karnataka: A 43-year-old woman from Bengaluru fell victim to a scam, losing over ₹86,000 while attempting to purchase tickets for an Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The incident occurred last week when the woman sought to purchase approximately 20 tickets for the match.
Fraudulent Transaction: Opting to book tickets from a Facebook page named “IPL Cricket Ticket,” the woman initiated contact with a scammer who claimed to sell IPL tickets. Over a series of transactions, she transferred thousands of rupees to the scammer’s account, only to realize later that she would not receive the tickets.
Police Complaint: After realizing the scam, the woman promptly approached the police and registered a complaint under two sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), pertaining to cheating by personation and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property.
Sequence of Events: The scam unfolded as follows:
- The woman called a number listed on the Facebook page and transferred an initial booking amount of ₹8,000 as requested by the scammer.
- Subsequently, she transferred ₹11,000 and ₹8,000 to the scammer’s account in separate transactions.
- The scammer then asked for additional amounts of ₹14,999 and ₹21,000, which the woman sent.
- When the woman demanded the tickets or a refund, the scammer claimed a technical glitch prevented him from receiving the payment and promised to refund the money later.
- The scammer then requested an extra ₹16,000, which the woman refused to send, insisting on either tickets or a refund.
- Upon being threatened with a police complaint, the scammer dismissively hung up the phone.
Police Complaint: Faced with the scammer’s refusal to refund the money, the woman lodged a formal complaint with the police the following day.
Cautionary Tale: This incident serves as a cautionary reminder to exercise caution when conducting financial transactions online, especially with unknown or unverified sources.
