“Are you ready to sing and dance your hearts out? Let’s do it one last time!” said a post today on the social network X by the Asian arm of AEG Presents, the live entertainment company that has brought the Taylor Swift ‘Eras Tour’ to Singapore. March 9 is the last night of the singer’s concert series in the island nation, and many fans are feeling crushed — not because they did not get tickets, but because they were scammed while buying tickets.
A media release published by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on March 7 said that e-commerce scams involving concert tickets had claimed at least 1,241 victims since January 2024, with total losses amounting to at least SGD 571,000. The police said that the majority of the cases involved Taylor Swift concert tickets.
These scams are being investigated with the assistance of 45 suspects — 25 men and 20 women, aged between 17 and 57 years — who are all connected to e-commerce scams specific to concert tickets. The suspects were netted in an anti-scam enforcement operation conducted between February 26 and March 5.
According to the SPF media release: “In this variant, victims would come across listings of concert tickets for sale through online platforms such as Telegram, X, Facebook, Carousell and Xiaohongshu. Scammers then would redirect the interested victims to WhatsApp/Telegram/WeChat for further interactions. Victims would then be instructed to make payments for the tickets via PayNow, bank transfers or virtual credits (e.g. iTunes cards).
“Victims would realise they had been scammed when the scammers did not deliver the tickets, unable to show any proof of authenticity or become uncontactable. For victims who received their tickets, they would realise they had been scammed when tickets were found to be invalid at the concert venues.”
Such was the story revealed on TikTok by a Singaporean fan (with the handle @cruel.blue), who said that she had entered the concert venue National Stadium on March 4, presenting a ticket that her friend had bought from a reseller on Viagogo. But she found that two others had the same seat, which meant that at least two of the three ticket-holders had been scammed. The TikToker had to then leave the concert venue.
Thai influencer Chopluem Thammapunya, who flew into Singapore for the March 3 concert of Taylor Swift, reportedly made the same discovery: the ticket she had purchased online was the duplicate of another ticket, and she could not get her seat. Posting a tearful video, she wrote on Instagram: “I was cheated for the first time in my life. I was shocked. I can’t speak. I didn’t expect this incident to happen.”
Up your scam safeguards, urge Singapore Police
The 45 people on the suspect list of Singapore Police have allegedly facilitated the scams in several ways:
- Most of them opened new bank accounts and relinquished them to the scammers or gave away their existing bank accounts to scammers.
- Some used their banking credentials or Singpass credentials allegedly to apply for fake trading accounts, fake jobs or loan schemes, and their credentials were phished and misused instead.
- One of them had allegedly attempted a job task that required him to receive and transfer money through his bank account, for a commission as high as SGD 60.
Singapore Police said that they would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
● ADD – ‘ScamShield’ app and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks, social media, Singpass accounts; set transaction limits on Internet banking transactions, including PayNow).
● CHECK – for scam signs with official sources (e.g., visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688). If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources and be wary of attractive, time-sensitive deals where only limited stocks are available. Avoid making upfront payments to bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals and, whenever possible, avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller. Always verify the seller’s profile through customer reviews and ratings.
● TELL – authorities, family, and friends about this scam so they do not fall for it. Report the fraudulent pages to the social media sites.
If you have information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. For urgent Police assistance, dial ‘999’.
Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with family and friends.