17-3-2024 (SINGAPORE) he sixth and final concert of American pop star Taylor Swift in Singapore took place on March 9, but reports of e-commerce scams involving tickets to The Eras Tour are still emerging, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Aileen Yap. She revealed that victims had filed reports after purchasing tickets from resellers only to find out they were fake when they arrived at the National Stadium. Some scammers also disappeared after receiving payment from victims.
AC Yap noted a significant increase in reports of concert ticket scams within the first few days of Taylor Swift’s arrival in Singapore. Between January 1 and March 12, at least 1,551 victims fell prey to e-commerce scams related to concert tickets, resulting in losses of at least $737,000. Specifically, 960 victims were scammed in relation to Swift’s concerts, resulting in losses of over $538,000.
AC Yap expressed concerns that the number of e-commerce scams might rise as more acts come to Singapore. She predicted that if the trend continues, e-commerce scams could become the top scam in the first half of 2024. In 2023, job scams were the most common, with e-commerce scams ranking second, totaling 9,783 reported cases and losses of at least $13.9 million.
Most victims who reported concert ticket scams related to Taylor Swift’s concerts were women aged 30 and below. AC Yap explained that factors such as optimism bias and overconfidence bias could have contributed to their deception. AC Yap acknowledged the challenges in combating concert ticket scams, suggesting that regulations on scalping could be considered to deter those who profit from buying bulk tickets and reselling them at higher prices or using bots to purchase tickets rapidly.
AC Yap praised online marketplace Carousell for suspending the sale of tickets to Swift’s concerts on its platform from February 23 to March 9 to prevent users from being scammed. Other platforms targeted by scammers included Facebook, X, Telegram, and Xiaohongshu.
While Singapore actively courts big stars and events to become a cultural hub, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong stated that efforts to tackle scams should not affect Singapore’s reputation. Economists estimated that Swift’s concerts could boost Singapore’s economy by up to $500 million in tourism receipts. Professor Lawrence Loh from the National University of Singapore believed that Singapore’s reputation as a cultural hub stems from its infrastructure, facilities, connectivity, and overall landscape, and that scams should be closely monitored but would not significantly impact the country’s standing.
AC Yap mentioned that malware scams were another growing concern in Singapore, ranking as the sixth most common scam in 2023 with 1,899 reported cases and losses of $34.1 million. She shared a case involving a widow who almost lost $110,000 to a malware scam after downloading a file from Facebook. Swift intervention by the police prevented her from losing her life savings and insurance payout.
Efforts to combat scams have been intensified with staff from six banks and the Government Technology Agency deployed at the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom). Carousell’s staff have also joined the ASCom team, and Shopee will station staff there from March 20. AC Yap acknowledged that scams would continue to prevail due to technological advancements and strong connectivity, but expressed her determination to help victims and minimize the impact of such scams.
