EXCLUSIVE| Coldplay tickets row: How cybercriminals preyed on fans

The controversy surrounding the sale of tickets for Coldplay is just getting murkier. mid-day has discovered that not only are tickets being sold on the black market, but cybercriminals, taking advantage of the ongoing controversy, are duping people with the promise of ‘genuine' tickets to the concert. One such incident was reported to the Chunabhatti police station, where a college student claimed to have purchased 24 tickets, only to find out that they were fake. The student had found the seller's contact online.

British rock band Coldplay, who are scheduled to perform in Navi Mumbai, during their ongoing Music of the Spheres World Tour. Pic/X

mid-day also uncovered a number involved in allegedly selling fake Coldplay tickets, with scammers using WhatsApp to communicate and deceive buyers. After obtaining an alleged scammer's number from a complaint submitted to the police, mid-day attempted to reach out to them. Initially, the phone was switched off, but when contacted via WhatsApp to inquire about ticket availability, the scammer responded after several hours, confirming that tickets were available and shared a price chart based on seating areas - between Rs 6,500 and Rs 45,000.

The alleged scammer then inquired about the number of passes required and the preferred seating level, requesting details such as the buyer's name, phone number, email address, and home address for ticket delivery, in addition to providing a digital copy.

Screen grabs of the chat with the alleged scammer

When the reporter questioned the legitimacy of the tickets, the scammer insisted that the tickets were genuine and claimed they were obtained through the "backend" of BookMyShow, the official online aggregator for the sale of the tickets. When asked to explain how this worked, the scammer called the reporter via WhatsApp and explained that agents working behind the scenes at BookMyShow secure tickets in advance. "I am from Indore and work as an agent on the backend of the ticketing platform, where some IDs are reserved in advance. We do not need to log in for bookings. The tickets are provided to us manually," the alleged scammer said on the call.

Explaining the payment process, the scammer said, "You need to make a 50 per cent payment in advance, and once you receive the booking confirmation via email, you can complete the remaining payment." The alleged scammer then shared the UPI ID "mustkeem5507@okhdfcbank" for the initial payment and requested screenshots as proof of the transaction. When the reporter mentioned that their friends were sceptical and wanted to see passes already sold to someone, the scammer responded, "You will receive the confirmation via email, and the physical passes will be delivered to your home address."

The scammer then shared a ticket purportedly sold to a person and urged the reporter to book at least one ticket to gain trust. Earlier, a complaint was filed that the online sale of tickets was controlled by BookMyShow in such a manner that the genuine purchasers were "intentionally logged out of the platform," in which its CEO was summoned by the Mumbai police Economic Offences Wing.

BookMyShow then issued a statement refuting any connections with third-party sellers. It has also recently filed a complaint with the Vile Parle police on the issue of fake and black marketing of tickets. "In its ongoing fight against ticket scalping and black marketing of tickets, BookMyShow lodged a formal FIR on October 2. This action follows our initial complaint filed proactively with the Mumbai police on September 23," a BookMyShow spokesperson said.

In its complaint, BookMyShow said that when the ticket sale started on September 22, they had clearly stated that tickets should not be purchased from any third party. The company has provided the police with around 30 phone numbers linked to individuals allegedly involved in selling tickets on the black market. On Friday, BookMyShow said that it is assessing the potential cancellation of tickets that are being sold "unethically".