SINGAPORE, March 1 — At least 334 people fell victim to scams involving the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets in January and February, with total losses amounting to at least S$213,000, said the police.
In an advisory today, the police reminded the public to be more discerning when seeking to buy concert tickets from third-party resellers, in light of the pop star’s upcoming concerts in Singapore.
Swift’s Eras Tour will be held over six nights at the National Stadium — from March 2 to 4, and March 7 to 9. Tickets were sold out within two days when they went on sale last July.
In their advisory, police said victims would come across listings of concert tickets for sale through online platforms such as Telegram, X, Facebook, or Chinese social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu.
Victims would then be redirected to messaging apps WhatsApp, Telegram or WeChat for further interaction with the scammers, where they would be instructed to make payments for the tickets via PayNow, bank transfers or virtual credits such as iTunes cards.
The victims would realise they had been scammed when the scammers did not deliver the tickets or became uncontactable.
Those who received tickets would realise they had been scammed when the tickets were found to be invalid at concert venues, or when the scammers refused to provide them with physical tickets or any proof of authenticity.
At least 54 victims lost more than S$45,000 by purchasing fraudulent Taylor Swift concert tickets in less than a week after the tickets went on sale, according to a report last July by national daily The Straits Times.
In February, Carousell, a consumer marketplace for buying and selling new and secondhand goods, announced its move to suspend the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets ahead of her shows in Singapore, noting the rise in ticket scams leading up to her shows globally.
“With Carousell suspending the sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets on its platform, the police would like to alert members of the public that scammers may pivot to other platforms, in particular, Telegram,” the police said.
To prevent being a victim of scams, members of the public are advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:
• Add the Scamshield app to protect against scam calls and SMSes; enable security features such as transaction limits for internet banking and two-factor authentication for banks and e-wallets
• Check for signs of a scam such as being asked by sellers to pay with gift cards or credits
• Purchase tickets only from authorised sellers and legitimate ticket marketplaces or resellers, such as Ticketmaster — such sites offer verification of tickets and guaranteed refunds if invalid tickets are received
• Always make payment only after receiving the tickets
• Tell the authorities, family and friends about scams and report any fraudulent listings to the respective social media platforms
Anyone with information on scams may call the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online to www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
The public may also visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 for more information. — TODAY
