5 women arrested after Hong Kong police break up alleged HK$2.2 million ticket scalping scam
- Police allege scam gang offered tickets for top acts such as Mirror, Jacky Cheung and pop duo Twins, as well as controversial Inter Miami football match
- Biggest single transaction was HK$670,000 spent on tickets for Mirror concert in January
Five Hong Kong women have been arrested after police broke up an alleged HK$2.2 million (US$281,317) scam involving what were claimed to be tickets for sold-out events such as a concert by boy band Mirror and the Inter Miami football match where legend Lionel Messi controversially failed to play.
The biggest single transaction involved HK$670,000 spent on tickets for a Mirror concert in January.
So Sin-yi, an inspector in the Hong Kong police Yau Tsim district investigative team, on Sunday revealed that the five, aged between 29 to 40, had tricked 153 victims into paying for a total of 1,900 tickets between August and December last year, when only about 200 tickets were supplied to customers.
“Even though some [ticket] selling activities aren’t regulated [ …] Sellers should also pay attention to their language used in marketing, as they could be liable for criminal charges if any element of fraud is found,” So warned.
The fraud was discovered last month after three women, who were later arrested, complained to police that they had been scammed by what was said to be a businesswoman who claimed that she could contact concert organisers for tickets for resale at their marked prices with just a small handling fee.