IPL 2024: Bengaluru woman gets scammed of over INR 86k in quest to buy RCB vs KKR tickets online

IPL tickets. (Source -Twitter/X)

A 43-year-old woman residing in Duo Heights Layout, Begur, recently fell victim to a scam while attempting to purchase tickets online for the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders held on March 29 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Earlier that morning, she stumbled upon a Facebook account named ‘IPL Cricket Ticket’ and contacted them to book tickets for her friends and family.

Upon her inquiry, she was provided with a mobile number and instructed to contact it for further details. She then dialed the number and connected with a person claiming to be a legitimate ticket seller for the IPL event and expressed her interest in purchasing approximately 20 tickets.

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The fraudster initially asked her to send INR 8,000 so he could block the tickets for her. She promptly transferred via a digital payments app and he then demanded an additional INR 11,000, citing various charges. Upon receiving the amount he then asked her to transfer INR 8,170 to an account in the name of Abdul Kalam. Subsequently, she made several more payments as per the fraudster’s instructions, including INR 14,999 and a final amount INR 21,000 in separate transactions. Ultimately, she lost INR 86,265 to the crook.

Upon his request for a final transaction of INR 21,000, she demanded either the tickets or a refund. However, the trickster then demanded INR 16,000 and she realized the scam and insisted on the tickets or a refund. He then refused to provide the tickets unless she paid and then urged her to proceed with a police complaint before abruptly disconnecting the call.

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The next day, she took action by filing a police complaint. The Begur police station registered a case under both the Information Technology Act and IPC Sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property). Additionally, according to the Karnataka State Cricket Association, IPL tickets are exclusively sold online through the RCB’s official website and at offline counters a couple of days prior to the game.