Telegram frauds won’t ‘Fix You’: How we tried to score fake Coldplay tickets (2024)

They couldn’t secure a place for themselves at the live music concerts for their favourite artists but are willing to pay a fortune to black marketeers. The quest has pushed many fans of British band Coldplay and Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh into losing money to scammers.

In a scan of online platforms and Telegram groups selling tickets of popular concerts, India Today found tickets for Coldplay’s Mumbai concert and Dosanjh’s performances in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur are being sold for as high as 10 times of the original price without any guarantee of fans actually getting a legitimate ticket.

Tickets for Coldplay’s event in January next year sold out within minutes of the sale going live on September 22 on its ticketing partner BookMyShow.

Desperate to see their favourite artist perform live, fans are turning to the shady private groups of Telegram, willing to risk up to 10 times the original ticket price. But even after shelling out these exorbitant sums, many end up without a ticket.

The Coldplay scam

Initially, Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” world tour at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium was scheduled on January 18 and 19, 2025. But the British band added a third show to its Mumbai leg on January 21 citing “phenomenal demand” after fans expressed frustration over their failure to secure a ticket.

The venue - DY Patil Stadium, where Coldplay will perform, can accommodate around 50,000 people. There’s room for another 10,000 in standing, and that’s 1.8 lakh tickets across three shows.

Tickets originally priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 35,000 quickly appeared on resale platforms like Viagogo, with some being listed for as much as Rs 3 lakhs. Known as "scalping" in Gen Z terms, this is the digital age’s version of 'black' ticketing at exorbitant prices.

However, the frenzy isn’t confined to resale platforms alone. The ticketing scam has spilled over onto Telegram, where touts are hawking 'black' tickets at prices soaring up to 10 times the original. Within hours, groups sprung up on the app, with sellers flooding in to pitch their tickets at sky-high rates, capitalising on desperate fans willing to pay a premium.

In a Telegram group with over 1700 members that India Today reviewed, some sellers offered tickets at 10 times their original value, few others offered them at 2.5 times the price. Lounge tickets, originally priced at Rs 35,000, are now being resold for as high as Rs 1.5 lakh. Even the cheapest, Level 3 (E & L) tickets, initially quoted at Rs 2,500 by BookMyShow, are now being resold for as much as Rs 28,000, over 11 times the original price. Standing floor tickets, initially priced at Rs 6,450, are now going for a staggering Rs 37,000.

But complaints of fraud are common.

An investment banker from Mumbai told India Today he was blocked on Telegram by the seller immediately after he transferred the money through UPI.

“None of these sellers are genuine. They are all scammers,” another group member told India Today, putting the blame for black marketing and scam on BookMyShow for allowing the tickets to be transferred to another person by the origin buyer.

India Today got in touch with several sellers on Telegram posing as potential buyers to verify the authenticity of the tickets. He quoted Rs 32,000 for a Coldplay concert ticket and shared a phone screen recording of BookMyShow app as a proof of ticket possession. When we asked how we can trust them that they won’t sell the ticket to multiple people, they blocked all channels of communication.

A regular affair

Telegram channels also list ‘black’ tickets for Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla's shows in Delhi, Pune, and Ahmedabad. The pre-sale event originally offered tickets priced at Rs 1,499 for the Silver (seated) section and Rs 3,999 for early bird Gold (standing) tickets.

On Viagogo, Silver tickets are being sold for Rs 17,533, while Gold tickets are priced at Rs 21,759. However, touts on Telegram are inflating prices even further, with Gold tickets going for as high as Rs 39,000 and Silver tickets for Rs 13,000.

In a statement, BookMyShow has said it has nothing to do with any other platform or individual reselling the event tickets.