SINGAPORE - Online marketplace Carousell has suspended the sales of Taylor Swift concert tickets on its peer-to-peer platform ahead of the American pop star’s bestselling Eras tour here in March.
Carousell will suspend ticket sales from Feb 23 to March 9, the company said in a statement on Feb 23.
All existing listings will be removed by Feb 26, and new listings are not allowed until the concerts conclude on March 9.
“While a vast majority of ticket listings are from genuine sellers, given the unique case of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, Carousell has made the one-off exception to adopt this approach, and apologises for the inconvenience caused,” the company said.
This is the first time that Carousell is suspending concert ticket sales across its six markets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Carousell chief of staff Tan Su Lin added that the preventive measure is needed, as “we expect many overseas concertgoers who may not know how to adequately protect themselves from local scam tactics”.
Singapore is Swift’s only stop in South-east Asia. Her six shows here from March 2 to 9 are expected to draw many fans from the region.
“Additionally, we realise that the two weeks leading up to the Eras tour shows are prime for scammers taking advantage of last-minute panic buying of concert tickets,” Ms Tan added.
“Hence, we are stepping in to do our part to manage the situation in our platform, and working very closely with the Singapore Police Force. We are monitoring the situation vigilantly and taking action against scammers.”
The police have warned about a resurgence in scams involving the sale of concert tickets by online third-party resellers, with at least 1,534 victims losing a total of $1.1 million or more between January 2023 and January 2024. Since the start of 2024, at least 583 victims have lost $223,000 in such scams.
Carousell said it is using a mix of artificial intelligence and manual moderation to detect and remove listings.
It also encouraged users to flag such listings using the “Report Listing” feature on its website and app. These reports will be reviewed by Carousell’s manual moderation team within 24 hours of submission.
Carousell urged buyers to do background checks to avoid transacting with scammers, who may be selling counterfeit or stolen tickets.
“Ticket buyers on our platform are encouraged to arrange for physical meet-ups to verify the authenticity of the tickets before making any payment,” the company said.
“For users who are looking to sell their tickets with genuine intent, Carousell strongly urges them to check and adhere to the reselling terms and conditions laid out by the official channels.
“These are likely to be found on the ticket itself or on the organiser’s website,” it added.
