A total of 25 men and 20 women, aged between 17 and 57, are assisting with investigations for their suspected involvement in e-commerce scams involving concert tickets following an anti-scam enforcement operation conducted between 26 February 2024 and 5 March 2024.
Since January 2024, at least 1,241 victims had fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $571,000, specific to e-commerce scams involving concert tickets. Majority of the cases involved Taylor Swift concert tickets.
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.
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 have pivoted to other platforms, in particular, Telegram.
During the operation, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven Police Land Divisions rounded up 45 persons for investigations. Preliminary investigations revealed that they had allegedly facilitated the scams through 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 which required him to receive and transfer money through his bank account, for a commission of as high as $60.
The Police 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, please 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. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. 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 your family and friends. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim!
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 March 2024 @ 11:22 AM