More than 200 reports of e-commerce scams involving sales of concert and event tickets received by the Police in 2018, in which the victims either did not receive the tickets or received invalid tickets after payments were made.
The Police, therefore, remind members of the public to be wary as several concerts featuring popular international artists such as BTS, Josh Groban, Ed Sheeran and John Mayer will be held in Singapore over the next few months.
The police advised members of the public to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- Don’t be impulsive – Be wary of online advertisements of concert/show tickets at cheap prices that sound too good to be true. Do not buy on impulse. Read the reviews of the seller before committing to a purchase.
- Don’t believe – Scammers may use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC/driver’s licence to make you believe that they are genuine sellers.
- Don’t give – As you are dealing with strangers, avoid making payments or deposits in advance. Try to use shopping platforms/arrangements that release your payment to the seller only upon receiving the item. Alternatively, arrange to meet the seller and pay only after collecting your tickets. Bear in mind that the tickets may be invalid upon entry as they are duplicated tickets. You are therefore advised to purchase only from authorised sellers.
Members of the public who wish to provide any information related to such scams, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
