IPL ticket scam: Bengaluru woman loses over Rs 18 lakh while trying to fulfil dad’s wish

Bengaluru: What began as an effort to fulfil her cancer-stricken father’s wish to watch an Indian Premier League (IPL) match turned into a financial nightmare for a 31-year-old woman, who lost more than Rs 18.4 lakh to cybercrooks posing as ticket sellers.According to a complaint filed by Mamata (name changed), a resident of Sarabandepalya, her father wished to watch an IPL match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. While she was searching for tickets online, she came across a man identifying himself as Navaneetha Krishnan on Instagram. Using the Instagram handle ‘nav_krishnan,’ the crook claimed he could arrange IPL match tickets on April 23 and provided a WhatsApp number, 6360670695, for further communication.Trusting his assurances, Mamata initially transferred Rs 15,000 for two tickets. Soon afterwards, she was asked to pay an additional Rs 6,000, which she was told would be refunded when the tickets were handed over at the stadium.The fraud allegedly escalated when another person, Yuvaraj, contacted her via WhatsApp and shared the purported ticket-booking details. Subsequently, claiming that the booked tickets were “sponsor tickets” that had been cancelled, Krishnan persuaded her to pay an additional Rs 12,000 for replacement tickets in another stand.

She paid up, desperate to fulfil her father’s wish.However, the demands did not stop there. The complainant was allegedly told that the tickets were not seated together. When she asked for ticket cancellation, the crooks told her she had to pay another Rs 3,000 to do so. Later, on May 4, Yuvaraj called her and claimed that a refund was being processed, but she needed to pay another Rs 5,000 to complete the transaction.The accused continued to manipulate the complainant with promises of refunds and ticket confirmations.

Over time, citing various reasons, they allegedly induced her to transfer a staggering Rs 18.4 lakh through her two bank accounts and her mother’s account. Police said the fraudsters briefly transferred Rs 2.4 lakh to the complainant as a purported refund, only to convince her to send the amount back as part of the ongoing "refund process”.

They later made her transfer back the Rs 2.4 lakh.Despite receiving substantial payments, the fraudsters never delivered any IPL tickets or refunded the money. Realising she had been cheated, the woman lodged a police complaint on June 4. A case has been registered under BNS Section 318 (cheating) and the Information Technology Act.