With advance bookings for bus and train trips surrounding the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays now closed, a "black market" has seemingly emerged on Facebook to cater to the high demand for tickets as Ramadan nears its end.
Numerous pages on the social media platform are flooded with posts advertising train tickets for different destinations. Many unsuspecting buyers are falling prey to scams in the process as fraudsters look to exploit the demand for tickets.
Most of these posts focus on train tickets to northern destinations, though a few are for other routes. Some also offer bus tickets.
Many users are desperately seeking tickets and posting their requests in groups, such as "Online Train Ticket (Ticket Bazar)", "Train Ticket Buy & Sell", "Online Ticket Bazar", and "Online Train Ticket Information", which have become hotspots for sketchy deals.
Some users are genuinely looking to offload tickets they bought but can no longer use, often sharing photos of the passes as proof. But others claim they can provide tickets for any train, route or class-often for fraudulent ends.
In the "Online Train Ticket (Ticket Bazar)" group, a user named Nuhayel Shishir posted around 12:30am on Friday, offering train tickets from Dhaka to Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, and Panchagarh for Mar 28, 29 and 30.
He claimed that buyers could collect their tickets "in person or through an admin deal".
When contacted via Messenger, Nuhayel assured that he could arrange any ticket. Asked specifically about two AC seats to Dinajpur on Mar 30, he offered Snigdha class tickets on the Ekota Express at Tk 2,000 apiece, though the official rate is Tk 1,421.
When asked how he obtained so many tickets, he responded: "I only have three for the 30th. The rest are being arranged with others."
Another seller, MD Sabbir Rahman, posted about tickets to Dinajpur, quoting Tk 1,000 for a non-AC (Shovon Chair) ticket, the official price of which is Tk 630.
Similarly, a user named Abul Hasan Azhari posted: "Assalamu Alaikum. If you need train tickets for any route from Dhaka, inbox me. I can arrange tickets for all routes, In sha Allah."
However, when attempts were made to contact him, he did not respond.
Scammers have turned these ticket-centric Facebook pages into their hunting grounds. In the "Train and Bus Ticket Buy & Sell Service" group, a user named Nazmul Islam Prince posted a contact number, claiming to sell tickets for any destination.
When contacted on Friday morning, he offered four AC tickets from Dhaka to Rangpur for Mar 30, demanding Tk 1,300 per ticket and asking for payment via bKash. �"bdnews24.com
