UAE: Man falls prey to concert ticket fraud; scammers arrested

He found out he had been scammed when he reached the event venue and was informed that his passes were fake

Published: Thu 2 Nov 2023, 2:42 PM

By
Web Desk

File photo

Have you ever come across an advertisement on social media that seemed just too good to be true? You may have been the target of an online scam.

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has shared a story about a man falling victim to a fake advertisement for concert tickets.

The man found a social media announcement advertising tickets for his favourite singer's concert at very low prices. Excited by the deal offered, he reached out to the account who posted the promotion and asked for the tickets.

The people he contacted to knew all about the concert and earned the man's trust by answering his questions. They then asked him to transfer the money to a specific account number and sent him his tickets electronically.

The man was in for a shock when he reached the concert with his friends. The organisers told him that his tickets were fake and were not issued by the official sources.

Realising he had fallen victim to a scam, he had no choice but to turn back. He then found out that he was not the only one fooled by the advertisement.

The victims of the scam together filed a complaint with the relevant authorities, who took immediate action and investigated the case. Upon finding the people who ran the fraudulent accounts, the authorities arrested them referred them to court, where they were convicted of their crimes.

Scam on the rise

The ADJD earlier issued a warning about fake social media advertisements peddling event tickets at seemingly too-good-to-be-true prices.

These fraudulent cases have gained traction in recent months, with scammers enticing unsuspecting customers with tickets at a very low price, only to disappear once they have amassed a sufficient number of sales.

The UAE authority is urging the people to exercise caution and vigilance when purchasing event tickets from unreliable sources. The scams have become increasingly sophisticated and may appear convincing at first interaction. However, the UAE authority warns that these offers are almost always too good to be true and often serve as a front for unscrupulous activities.

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