Concert-goers beware: Ticket scams on the rise in Singapore as live acts return
Police say at least 137 victims lost a total of about $170,000 to ticket scammers since March
SINGAPORE — Police are alerting the public not to be duped by fake concert-ticket scams, as more and more live entertainment acts begin to return to Singapore.
They revealed on Thursday (20 April) that, since March, at least 137 victims have lost about $170,000 after being conned by such ticket scams.
The Straits Times reported the police saying that these scams were advertised on social media platforms such as Twitter, as well as e-commerce platforms such as Carousell and China's Xiaohongshu.
How these scams are carried out
Typically, the scammers would concoct time-sensitive or limited ticket sales, in order to convince victims to quickly make advance ticket payments.
According to The Straits Times, the victims would usually find out they are being scammed only when they failed to obtain the tickets they had paid for.
In more elaborate scams, the scammers would actually send fake tickets to the victims, who would subsequently be denied entry at the concerts.
As such, police have advised the public to take precautions, such as buying tickets only from authorised or reputable sellers. They should also arrange physical meet-ups with online third-party sellers before payment, in order to verify the authenticity of the tickets.
Concert-tickets scams prevalent in Singapore
Police said that concert-ticket scams have been prevalent over the past year.
Between January and November 2022, there were 136 police reports filed in relation to such scams, with total losses amounting to at least $111,000.
This is a staggering 53 times the amount lost in the same period in 2021.
The public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-7226688 for information on scams. Those with information on scams may call the police hotline on 1800-2550000 or submit confidentially online at police.gov.sg/iwitness.
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