T’puram: Cyber fraudsters are targeting cricket fans with fake offers for tickets to the first India-West Indies ODI to be held in the state capital on Sunday, allegedly using social media platforms to dupe victims out of large sums of money.The cyber police have warned public against fraudulent advertisements and fake booking offers circulating on social media in the run-up to the match.Fraudsters are reportedly using fake Instagram pages and posts to advertise tickets, displaying the match date, venue and attractive prices. Those interested are directed to WhatsApp through links provided in the advertisements. They are then sent fake booking forms seeking personal details such as name, address, phone number and email ID.The fraud usually begins with the scammers collecting a small advance payment in the name of reserving a ticket. They then send a fake order confirmation message to convince the victim that the ticket has been booked.The fraudsters subsequently demand additional payments under various heads, including GST, refundable charges, verification fees and processing charges, assuring victims that the amounts will later be refunded.Even after these payments are made, victims are asked to transfer more money citing reasons such as “transaction processing” or “refund pending”. In some cases, fraudsters reportedly threaten that the ticket and the amount already paid will be lost if further payments are not made.The cyber police advised cricket fans to verify ticket sources before making any payment and to avoid clicking on links shared through unverified social media pages.
