Woman charged with cheating Taylor Swift fan of S$350 for Singapore concert tickets
Foo Mei Qi is believed to have scammed more than S$24,000 (US$18,000) from victims looking for Taylor Swift concert tickets on Carousell.
Taylor Swift performing the first of six shows for the Singapore leg of The Eras Tour at the National Stadium on Mar 2, 2024. (Photo: CNA/Gaya Chandramohan)
SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old woman was on Tuesday (Mar 12) charged in court with cheating a Taylor Swift fan into paying S$350 for tickets to the first of the US pop star's recent shows in Singapore.
The police previously said that Foo Mei Qi, a Singaporean, is believed to have scammed customers on online marketplace Carousell of more than S$24,000 (US$18,000).
Foo currently faces a single charge of cheating. Court documents state that she supposedly tricked another woman into transferring S$350 to her via the PayNow platform on Sep 13, 2023.
This was for tickets to Swift’s concert on Mar 2 — the first night of the star's Singapore tour.
Swift wrapped up the last of her six sold-out shows on Saturday. Singapore was the only stop in Southeast Asia for her Eras Tour after government agencies secured an exclusive deal with her.
The police said they received several reports between Mar 3 and Mar 7 from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller advertising the sale of concert tickets on Carousell.
The seller, upon receiving payment via PayNow or bank transfer, failed to deliver the concert tickets and became uncontactable.
The police subsequently established the woman's identity through follow-up investigations and arrested her on Monday.
On Tuesday, a judge ordered Foo to be remanded at Woodlands Police Division for investigations. She will return to court on Mar 19.
Those convicted of cheating can be fined or jailed for up to 10 years.
The police said on Mar 1 that at least S$213,000 were lost to Swift concert ticket scams over the past two months. More than 330 victims fell prey to such scams in January and February, they added.
Carousell suspended the sale of Swift’s Eras Tour tickets from Feb 23 to Mar 9, noting that ticket scams rose in the lead-up to her shows globally.
To avoid falling victim to such scams, the police advised members of the public to take precautionary measures such as avoiding making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller.
