Concert, match or event ticket resale scam
Tickets for a sold-out event are offered on social media; you pay and receive nothing, or a fake ticket.
Community reports: 0
How it works
- When a concert, cricket match or show sells out, social media accounts and WhatsApp groups offer tickets "from a friend who cannot go".
- They send a screenshot of the ticket or booking, and ask for full payment by UPI before they transfer it.
- After you pay, the seller blocks you, or sends a fake ticket or one already sold to many others, and you are turned away at the gate.
What it looks like
Example messages. Numbers and links are masked.
Selling 2 tickets for Saturday's concert, Gold section, Rs 6,500 each. Can't attend due to a family emergency. UPI only, ticket will be transferred after payment.
Bhai, tickets are going fast, 3 people are asking. Pay now and I will send the QR code in 10 minutes.
Red flags
- Sold-out event, but tickets suddenly available
- Full UPI payment to a stranger first
- Only a screenshot as proof
- Rush because "others are waiting"
The one question to ask
How will you know the ticket is real, and not also sold to ten other people?
Already paid or shared details?
Call 1930 at once: in the first hour the money can often still be frozen before it moves on. Then call your bank on the number printed on your card, and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in with screenshots of every message and payment.
1930 · cybercrime.gov.in
Also seen as
- Fake "VIP pass" or "early access" links
- Fake booking websites for cricket matches
- Printed fake tickets sold outside the venue