Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has cautioned against the dangers of buying fake tickets from dubious sources for various events by highting the case of a victim under its “Stories and Lessons” awareness series.
The victim, a young man, wanted to attend the concert of his favourite singer, but his joy was shortlived as he was duped into buying a fake ticket by social media scammers.
“With the announcement of concerts through the media and social media, many members of the public are filled with joy, and are keen to attend such concerts and watch their favourite singers. They then begin to look for tickets on various media and social media, the ADJD said.
The young man in this case was no exception, with his initial attempts to get a ticket reaching a dead end, with all the sites and avenues he explored telling him that the tickets were “sold out”.
Eventually, the young man found a site on one of the social media platforms that claimed to sell tickets for the same concert. Thrilled, he immediately bought a ticket not only for himself but also for his friends.
Oblivious to the fact that he was buying fake tickets, he completely fell for the scam, sending the stipulated amount of money via a bank transfer. In fact, he meticulously followed all the steps that the fraudsters asked him to go through, including the “validation of a code” for the transfer.
It was only on the day of the concert when the young man arrived at the main entrance of the concert venue that he realised he had been taken for a ride. As soon as he reached the gate and presented his electronic tickets to the organisers, he was told that they were not valied. To his shock, the barcode had been forged and the ticket was completely fake.
What was worse was that there were many like him who had fallen for the electronic fraud. In some cases, people had not even realised that the tickets they had bought had been duplicated.
“Fraudsters and swindlers monitor such models with the aim of trapping people with fraudulent methods amid the widespread use of the Internet without protection, physical control or sufficient awareness,” the ADJD said.
In the face of these fraudulent operations, victims like the young man have submitted their complaints to the relevant authorities, who have taken measures in accordance with legal controls to investigate the owners of the fake sites, issue orders to arrest them and refer them to Public Prosecution. THe competent court subsequently issued its ruling, convicting them of electronic fraud, the department added.
How to tell an e-scam
Many people sell tickets they no longer need on social media, so it’s no surprise that scammers are taking advantage of this by creating fake accounts.
Scammers may use fake ticketing websites or email scams to make false claims about the event, such as being part of a ticket lottery or competitions or get big discounts when purchasing certain goods. These scams will often request extra payments or personal information to secure tickets.
For regular and official tickets, double check the spelling, dates, authenticity of website links and quality of the tickets. On closer inspection, real tickets will never include spelling errors. Genuine tickets are also printed on the front and back of high-quality paper stock.
Scammers can sell fake e-tickets through promotion, fraudulent websites or through ticket resale. A person must be careful and aware of this type of practice in order for it to be discovered.
