S'pore police reminds public of concert ticket scams

Ahead of the sale of tickets to BTS World Tour "Arirang" concert on Jun. 3 at 12pm, the Singapore police reminded the public to remain vigilant against concert ticket scams.

Such concert ticket scams would see victims come across offers for concert tickets on messaging or social media platforms, such as Telegram, Carousell, Twitter/X, Xiaohongshu, and Facebook.

Modus operandi

Scammers would provide screenshots or videos of fake tickets or receipts to convince victims that the tickets are authentic and to rush them into paying as the offer was limited and even time-sensitive.

They would promise to deliver the tickets to the victims after pressuring them to pay quickly.

When victims reported not receiving their concert tickets, the scammers would claim they had not received the victim’s initial payment and request additional payment.

Victims would realise they had been scammed when the tickets were not delivered or when the seller became uncontactable.

Online marketplaces

In line with Meta’s commerce policies, Facebook Marketplace does not allow content that promotes the buying, selling, or trading of event tickets.

TikTok Shop’s policies do not support the sales of concert tickets.

The police have also reached out to Carousell to remove resale ticket listings for the upcoming BTS concert, given previous instances of scams involving popular concerts.

Reminder

The police reminded the public to purchase concert tickets only from authorised platforms, such as Ticketmaster.

Ticketmaster’s terms and conditions for the sale of concert tickets forbid tickets from being transferred or resold.

Those found to have used resale tickets will be turned away from the concert without a refund.

The public should be wary of resellers who claim they can transfer tickets to the buyer’s Ticketmaster account after purchase, as tickets are strictly non-transferable.

Ticketmaster will also never issue the tickets via email.

Police also advised the public to download the ScamShield App and set security features, such as enabling two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for bank accounts, and setting transaction limits on internet banking transactions.

The public is also advised to purchase concert tickets only from authorised concert ticket sellers.

They can call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799, if they are unsure whether something is a scam.

The legitimacy of suspicious phone numbers, messages and website links can be checked through the ScamShield App.

The public is also advised to tell authorities, family, and friends about scams.

They may also report any fraudulent advertisements to the social media and e-commerce platforms.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.