Hong Kong police arrest 5 over selling fake Sammi Cheng concert tickets

Hong Kong police have arrested five mainland Chinese visitors on suspicion of selling highly advanced counterfeit tickets for superstar Sammi Cheng Sau-man’s sold-out concerts.

The force said on Tuesday eight fake tickets seized in last week’s operation replicated security features on the genuine ones, prompting police to urge residents not to buy concert tickets from unauthorised sources or scalpers.

“The fakes replicated various security features, including the paper quality, fonts, watermark, QR codes and anti-counterfeiting labels,” Chief Inspector Chan Hoi-leung of the Kowloon City district crime squad said.

But he highlighted that the counterfeit tickets seized from different victims had the same seat number printed on them.

“Due to the high level of sophistication, scammers even offered face-to-face transactions and on-site ticket verification to gain the victims’ trust,” Chan said.

Police launched an investigation after receiving multiple reports from the victims who bought bogus tickets online or outside the performance venue – the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom – in cash or via electronic transfers.

“When they tried to enter the venue, they were informed that the tickets were invalid, and the tickets they had bought were subsequently confirmed to be counterfeit,” the chief inspector said.