SINGAPORE: Those who want to buy tickets to pop star Lady Gaga’s upcoming concerts should do so only through the three authorised platforms to avoid getting scammed, the police said on Friday (March 21).
They should avoid getting tickets from messaging and social media platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, Telegram, X, Carousell, and Xiaohongshu, the police added, in an advisory on concert ticket sale ruses.
The three platforms authorised to sell tickets to Lady Gaga’s four concert dates here in May are Ticketmaster, Klook and KrisFlyer.
At least 1,050 reports of scams were lodged in relation to Taylor Swift’s concert in 2024, with total losses of at least $658,000, said the police.
Such ticket scams would typically begin with victims coming across ads for concert tickets on messaging and social media platforms.
In some cases, scammers would show screenshots or videos of fake tickets or receipts to convince the victims that the tickets are real.
Scammers would also claim there were limited tickets, which were on sale only for a short period, and promise to deliver the tickets to the victims after successful payment.
In cases where victims did not receive their concert tickets, conmen would claim that the victims did not pay them, and ask for more money.
These victims would realise they had been scammed only when the conmen did not deliver the tickets or became uncontactable.
Some who received their tickets would realise they had been scammed only when their tickets were found to be invalid at concert venues.
The police said Ticketmaster’s terms and conditions for the sale of these tickets state clearly that tickets cannot be transferred or resold.
Those who are found with resale tickets will be turned away from the concert venue, with no refund.
Also, tickets would be issued to buyers via their Ticketmaster account only one month before the concert.
“Ticketmaster will never issue tickets via e-mail,” said the police. “The public should also be wary of resellers claiming to be able to transfer their tickets to your Ticketmaster account after purchase, as the tickets are strictly not transferrable.”
After ticket pre-sales for Mastercard holders kicked off on March 18 at 10am for Lady Gaga’s upcoming concerts, scalpers began reselling tickets, with some listings appearing within minutes.
Listings for tickets on online marketplace Carousell were priced as high as S$38,888, with others going for up to $12,000 on resale sites such as Viagogo and Stubhub.
Lady Gaga is due to perform at the Singapore Sports Hub on May 18, 19, 21 and 24, her only concerts in Asia. - The Straits Times/ANN
