17-year-old arrested over Marquee S'pore ticket scam on Telegram, 19 victims lost $5,000

A 17-year-old male was arrested and two men, aged 30 and 37, were identified by the Commercial Affairs Department on Monday (Aug 1) for their suspected involvement in a scam involving the sale of Marquee Singapore tickets on Telegram.

The trio are believed to have facilitated the scam by providing their bank accounts to facilitate illicit fund movements. At least 19 victims have fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $5,000 since last month. 

Located in Marina Bay Sands, Marquee Singapore is billed as "Singapore's largest nightclub".

Police received information about the scam on July 31.

Preliminary investigations revealed that victims came across posts made by scammers in Telegram chat groups such as "SG Clubbing".

These posts advertised the sale of tickets for various events that were sold out on the official website of Marquee Singapore. In the posts, victims were promised that by purchasing tickets via the scammers, they would have guaranteed entry into the nightclub and would also not have to queue to enter.

Upon responding to the posts, victims were requested by the scammers to make advance payment for the tickets.

The victims realised that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable after the transfers had been made but they did not receive the tickets they had paid for.

Police investigations are ongoing.

The offence of cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of a property under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.

You are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

• Purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources. Buying cheap tickets from re-sellers is risky - If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
• When purchasing tickets online, use escrow payment options that protect buyers by releasing payment to the seller only upon delivery, where possible.
• Avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller as this method does not offer any protection to buyers.
• Arrange for a physical meet-up with the seller to verify the authenticity of the tickets or items prior to making payment. Bear in mind that the party that you are dealing with online is a stranger.

If you have any information related to such crimes, 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 Hotline at 1800-722-6688.