India, Aug. 29 -- A tiny difference in font and spacing on a mobile screen has blown the lid off a new railway ticketing scam- a fake version of the RailOne app being used by passengers travelling in Mumbai's AC locals.

The fraud came to light on June 20 when 27-year-old Western Railway ticket checking staffer Arvind Singh was conducting a routine check for ticketless passengers aboard an AC local from Dadar. What initially appeared to be a valid return ticket soon caught his eye: the station names on the mobile ticket did not quite look right.

Singh, a commercial cum ticket clerk posted at Lower Parel, noticed that the font and spacing between the boarding and alighting stations were different from those on the official RailOne app. On...