Coldplay Ahmedabad concert tickets: How to protect yourself from cyber frauds

Coldplay fans in the country especially those who missed out on the tickets for the Mumbai concert were in for a treat as the British band recently announced another show in India Being claimed as their biggestever show Coldplay will perform onJanuary 25at Narendra Modi Stadium AhmedabadThe tickets for the concert will go live onSaturday November 16While the excitement to see your favourite band perform live is always high it also gives way to illegal and unethical activities preying on fansrsquo love for the artists and their willingness to pay high costs to get access to these concerts The recent Coldplay tickets debacle is proofApart from ticket scalping which was a major issue many fans fell prey to cyber fraudsters selling fake tickets One such incident was reported at the Chunabhatti police station where a college student claimed to have purchased 24 tickets for himself and his friends approximately worth Rs 22 lakhs He later found out that the tickets were fake and the confirmation email he received was from a fake ID resembling the official BookMyShow domainAlso ReadMumbai College youth duped with fake Coldplay ticketsWhen tickets for popular shows and concerts are sold the fansrsquo anticipation gives birth to a breeding ground for such activities But why do people fall preyNirali Bhatia cyber psychologist psychotherapist and founder of Cyber BAAP an anticyberbullying organisation explains ldquoThese cyber criminals target an innate trait of humans ndash greed We all want to be the first ones the best ones get the best deals be a part of whatrsquos trending fight the FOMO etc For scamsters this is an opportunity to make quick money They think theyrsquoll always find someone who will be in a rush to get the tickets and will fall preyrdquoScams to be careful ofThere are various ways in which a cyber fraudster can target fansCyber crime investigator Ritesh Bhatia informs ldquoEven though there was only one authorised ticket seller for Coldplayrsquos Mumbai concert ticket scalping was a major issue That is a problem on a larger level when someone takes advantage of the situationrdquoDiscussing specific scams that one must be aware of he says ldquoThere might be several unauthorised websites reselling the tickets whose authenticity is not known Fake websites may claim to sell tickets at a cheaper price or offer other deals These may have domain names resembling the official ticketing website and fans often donrsquot notice the difference in a rush Phishing is a major issuerdquoldquoAdditionally scamsters can also target people through ads on social media So people must be careful not to fall prey to all thisrdquo he addsHow to protect yourself from cyber scams while purchasing ticketsIn these situations one must know how to protect themselves from such scams Verifying information is the most important step towards accomplishing thatldquoIn an online world we cannot act on impulse We have to read everything carefully Because of this fastmoving multimedia content we have shifted from reading to only scanning That is what scamsters take advantage of If they make the page look like the official website visually not many might pay attention to minute details through which they will be able to differentiate between the fake one and the actual one So slow down and verify everything before taking any actionrdquo suggests NiraliSpeaking of a broader thought process that might help people stay away from cyber scams she says ldquoWe need to avoid the rush the FOMO the drive to be with the trend These are the vulnerabilities that scamsters exploitrdquoRitesh shares the following tipsBuy tickets only from the official websiteDonrsquot trust the ads you see on social media or elsewhere Always verify the official handles and domain names of the authorised vendorDonrsquot ever enter your credit card or other financial information on random sites They are not trustworthyGeneral guidelines to follow while making online purchasesOne can stay protected from cyber fraud by following some simple guidelines Advocate Prashant Mali a cybersecurity cyber law and data protection expert and author suggests the followingPurchase only from official sources or authorised ticket vendorsBe cautious of deals that seem too good to be trueCheck for ldquohttpsrdquoand a padlock icon in the URLUse secure payment methods like credit cards or trusted digital walletsAvoid using public WiFi for transactionsBe cautious of phishing emails and fake linksCheck reviews and ratings of platforms or sellers before purchasingEnable twofactor authentication 2FA on accounts linked to paymentsMonitor your bank statements for any unauthorised chargesAlso ReadLights sound action Tracing the dynamics of concert culture in India