Mother of the Year in Singapore scammed for over $2000 to get tickets to Ed Sheeran concert for daughter

The heights a mother would go for her daughter’s happiness could be as low as the lows that scammers, scalpers and horrible people would stoop to when cheating people out of their money.

Gaynor Reid didn’t let the loss of over $2000 and the stress of getting tickets for Ed Sheeran’s recent concert get to her–she still went and saw Ed Sheeran with her daughter. She even thoroughly enjoyed the event.

But that doesn’t mean her ordeal with scalpers, scammers and “ticketing site” viagogo is over.

All because of a mother’s love

When Gaynor’s daughter asked to go see the Ed Sheehan concert, the former was happy to oblige. But knowing how events like this get sold out so quickly, she went online on popular shopping app Carousell, to get tickets from someone who already had the best seats.

She got in touch with a woman named Rachel Tan with an account named Rachel Tan26 on popular selling site Carousell, who was quick to put pressure on her to buy the tickets and capitalise on her feat of losing out on the experience her daughter wanted:

Here’s how that conversation went:

8/11/17, 10:05:36 AM: ‎Messages to this chat and calls are now secured with end-to-end encryption.
8/11/17, 10:05:56 AM: Gaynor Reid: Hi Rachel – how much for both tix and how can I collect?
8/11/17, 10:19:36 AM: Rachel Tan: 384$
8/11/17, 10:19:59 AM: Rachel Tan: I will send tickets to your email

8/11/17, 10:53:49 AM: Gaynor Reid: Ok great – would like to buy. How can I send you the $$$?
8/11/17, 10:54:10 AM: Rachel Tan: Bank transfer
8/11/17, 10:54:31 AM: Rachel Tan: Local bank
8/11/17, 10:55:38 AM: Gaynor Reid: Ok will you provide your bank details so I can arrange? And how do I know for sure the tickets are genuine? You will email me a link to print/download the tickets?

8/11/17, 10:56:52 AM: Rachel Tan: <xxxxxxxxxxxx> OCBC savings
8/11/17, 10:57:22 AM: Rachel Tan: The tickets will be attached in email
8/11/17, 10:57:33 AM: Rachel Tan: You just need to print out
8/11/17, 10:58:15 AM: Gaynor Reid: Ok will arrange money across today and let you know when done
8/11/17, 10:58:59 AM: Rachel Tan: About time?
8/11/17, 10:59:11 AM: Rachel Tan: Because may have other buyers

8/11/17, 11:00:10 AM: Gaynor Reid: Can get my Husband to do now – just about to call him
8/11/17, 11:00:21 AM: Rachel Tan: Ok
8/11/17, 11:02:48 AM: Gaynor Reid: Husband not answering his phone – please give me half an hour. Promise I will arrange as soon as I can get in touch with him. Thanks ?
8/11/17, 11:08:46 AM: Rachel Tan: Ok

8/11/17, 11:14:43 AM: Gaynor Reid: All done receipt #312605X330695. My email address is xxxxxxxxx.
8/11/17, 11:15:20 AM: Rachel Tan: Ok let me check first
8/11/17, 11:27:02 AM: Rachel Tan: Did not receive your funds
8/11/17, 11:27:20 AM: Rachel Tan: Can you show receipt?
8/11/17, 11:28:01 AM: Gaynor Reid: My husband has assured me he transferred – will ask him to send me photo of the receipt now.

8/11/17, 11:28:27 AM: Gaynor Reid: I am sure the money will take some time to show up but calling him now…
8/11/17, 11:28:37 AM: Rachel Tan: It should be instant
8/11/17, 11:28:52 AM: Rachel Tan: But I need to see the receipt first

8/11/17, 11:29:42 AM: Gaynor Reid: Yes I understand- just calling him now but no answer.
8/11/17, 11:39:44 AM: Rachel Tan: ?
8/11/17, 11:40:20 AM: Gaynor Reid: Husband just going back into account to see if he can send image of the transfer
8/11/17, 11:46:00 AM: Rachel Tan: Nvm cancel deal
8/11/17, 11:46:10 AM: Rachel Tan: Will look for other buyers
8/11/17, 11:46:47 AM: Gaynor Reid: My husband has transferred money to your account so if you cancel you will be stealing out money

8/11/17, 11:47:08 AM: Gaynor Reid: Just sent you an image of the message from hsbc
8/11/17, 11:47:24 AM: Gaynor Reid: I will go to the police if you don’t send me the tickets
8/11/17, 11:47:58 AM: Gaynor Reid: Please confirm you are not cancelling this transaction

8/11/17, 11:47:58 AM: Rachel Tan: Can send the image here?
8/11/17, 11:48:18 AM: Rachel Tan: Ok not cancelling
8/11/17, 11:48:34 AM: Gaynor Reid: 2017-11-08-PHOTO-00000038.jpg <‎attached>
8/11/17, 11:49:20 AM: Rachel Tan: ?
8/11/17, 11:49:30 AM: Rachel Tan: Where is the receipt

8/11/17, 11:52:06 AM: Gaynor Reid: There is no receipt but this is the message he got from the bank once the transaction was done. I assure you I didn’t go to the trouble of making this message up. Pls allow some time for the money to appear but 100% it has been transferred so pls do not sell to someone else or you will be stealing. As far as I al concerned our sale is done and legitimate. I understand you want to make sure you have the money but I can’t make up a bank receipt number and send such a message to my husbands phone. I swear it has been done.

8/11/17, 11:58:12 AM: Gaynor Reid: Pls confirm you will not sell tix to someone else
8/11/17, 11:59:21 AM: Rachel Tan: I did not receive any payment now
8/11/17, 11:59:36 AM: Rachel Tan: I will wait until 1pm latest
8/11/17, 12:22:13 PM: Gaynor Reid: Just called hsbc to get them to send receipt. They have high call volume so are going to ring me back. Please give me a bit more time – promise this is not a scam. I have no reason to mess you around becUse I know I won’t get tix till you get money so why would I lie?

8/11/17, 12:23:02 PM: Rachel Tan: Just show your bank records
8/11/17, 12:23:19 PM: Rachel Tan: Don’t need to call bank
8/11/17, 12:23:29 PM: Rachel Tan: Anyway latest 1pm
8/11/17, 12:24:09 PM: Rachel Tan: I have another buyer waiting
8/11/17, 12:44:57 PM: Gaynor Reid: The transaction does not show up yet but I will get you proof – if you resell what I have already bought l will go straight to the police so pls be reasonable

8/11/17, 12:50:01 PM: Rachel Tan: Or you can make another payment
8/11/17, 12:56:07 PM: Gaynor Reid: Why would I make another payment when already paid? I am now in a meeting but pls give me time to show you something from the bank. As far as I am concerned our deal is done so you cannot sell to me then to someone else. Will come back to you soon

8/11/17, 12:56:39 PM: Rachel Tan: Deal cancelled sorry
8/11/17, 1:08:12 PM: Gaynor Reid: Well you will need to refund my money or I will be straight to the police. You are being very unreasonable

8/11/17, 1:08:43 PM: Rachel Tan: I will refund if I receive payment from you
8/11/17, 1:09:08 PM: Rachel Tan: I already waited long enough
8/11/17, 1:09:59 PM: Rachel Tan: And I don’t know what’s so difficult in showing you bank transfer records for today
8/11/17, 1:10:57 PM: Rachel Tan: You need to show me that 384 is debited from your bank that’s all
8/11/17, 1:12:40 PM: Rachel Tan: I can extend the time to 2pm since other buyer is not ready

8/11/17, 1:29:37 PM: Gaynor Reid: Sorry it is not my acct – is my husband’s and I am doing all I can tp get you proof but as I said I am in meeting now so pls just calm down and I will get you the assurance you need. At the moment you hold all the cards so no reason for me to lie to you. Will come back to you as soon as I can get either my hubby or bank to show proof

8/11/17, 1:41:37 PM: Rachel Tan: You can make another payment on your own as I think your husband did not transfer at all
8/11/17, 1:55:10 PM: Rachel Tan: I’m still checking my bank
8/11/17, 1:55:34 PM: Rachel Tan: Please do not force me to cancel the deal
8/11/17, 2:11:26 PM: Rachel Tan: No reply?

8/11/17, 2:12:32 PM: Gaynor Reid: In meeting – pls allow me time to get you proof. It is paid or he would never have got a receipt number – did you try check with your bank that this is a valid receipt. Back to you soon as possible
8/11/17, 2:18:53 PM: Rachel Tan: Maybe wrong account number or did not choose FAST when transferring
8/11/17, 2:20:03 PM: Rachel Tan: Anyway 3pm latest as other buyer indicated
8/11/17, 2:33:17 PM: Gaynor Reid: 2017-11-08-PHOTO-00000068.jpg <‎attached>
8/11/17, 2:38:30 PM: Gaynor Reid: 2017-11-08-PHOTO-00000069.jpg <‎attached>

8/11/17, 2:37:45 PM: Rachel Tan: Ok have
8/11/17, 2:39:45 PM: Rachel Tan: Can ask them to cancel and change to FAST so I can receive it immediately
8/11/17, 2:40:04 PM: Rachel Tan: Or you can make another payment via FAST
8/11/17, 2:40:32 PM: Rachel Tan: And I will refund once I receive the other payment in 3 days

8/11/17, 2:42:17 PM: Gaynor Reid: She is just checking now
8/11/17, 2:47:11 PM: Gaynor Reid: They cannot stop payment -clearly you have proof you will be paid so please go ahead with your side of the bargain as my husband did not know about FAST but the money has already left our account. Can?

8/11/17, 2:48:06 PM: Rachel Tan: They can stop because this not a FAST transfer
8/11/17, 2:48:17 PM: Rachel Tan: I have not received it at all
8/11/17, 2:48:50 PM: Rachel Tan: No tickets will be sent unless I receive payment
8/11/17, 2:49:24 PM: Gaynor Reid: She said they cannot as money has left our account already and only way to stop is for you to agree and then there is a fee and it will still take three days. Can I call you to speak to the bank yourself?

8/11/17, 2:51:33 PM: Rachel Tan: I don’t care what the bank says
8/11/17, 2:51:43 PM: Rachel Tan: I must receive the funds first
8/11/17, 2:54:33 PM: Gaynor Reid: I understand what you are saying but i think you can see I am doing all I can. It will cost $40 to stop and you need to agree to the stop at your end and of course i will not transfer more money to you until that stop which she said will take three days. I am starting to feel like you are not being very reasonable here – you never said the money had to go thru fast and the money is paid and you WILL receive it so what is the problem?

8/11/17, 2:57:05 PM: Rachel Tan: I’m not sure about hsbc
8/11/17, 2:57:11 PM: Rachel Tan: But for ocbc
8/11/17, 2:57:20 PM: Rachel Tan: It’s automatically FAST
8/11/17, 2:57:43 PM: Rachel Tan: And this system is been up since 2014
8/11/17, 2:57:53 PM: Rachel Tan: I don’t have to remind you that

8/11/17, 2:58:14 PM: Gaynor Reid: Apparently auto is giro for hsbc – I am really sorry about this but I don’t know what else to do to show you good faith on my end
8/11/17, 2:58:39 PM: Gaynor Reid: She said money could be in tmw

8/11/17, 2:59:48 PM: Rachel Tan: You send using giro or meps?
8/11/17, 3:00:52 PM: Gaynor Reid: Believe it’s giro as she said that is what is auto but she is iff speaking to her manager…I am sure this is not fun for you either but I am trying all I can and just to get these tickets for my daughter
8/11/17, 3:02:23 PM: Rachel Tan: Nvm
8/11/17, 3:02:42 PM: Rachel Tan: No tickets until I receive the money

8/11/17, 3:07:46 PM: Gaynor Reid: Ok they say they can recall funds and then you have to agree to recall and can take up to three days for this process…so I guess we have to wait till the funds come into your account

8/11/17, 3:08:13 PM: Gaynor Reid: The main thing is that I don’t want you to sell the tickets to someone else
8/11/17, 3:09:45 PM: Rachel Tan: You can make another payment
8/11/17, 3:09:58 PM: Rachel Tan: I will refund the other once I received it
8/11/17, 3:11:14 PM: Rachel Tan: You need to confirm whether it’s meps or giro
8/11/17, 3:11:25 PM: Rachel Tan: If meps , just 1 day

8/11/17, 3:11:44 PM: Gaynor Reid: So you don’t trust me despite the proof but I have to trust you? How can I do that when you won’t show me the same respect? Why you can’t wait for the money to clear. The bank says giro but could clear tmw

8/11/17, 3:12:07 PM: Rachel Tan: Giro is 3 days
8/11/17, 3:12:26 PM: Gaynor Reid: Up to three days but she said could be faster
8/11/17, 3:12:26 PM: Rachel Tan: I checked hsbc’s website
8/11/17, 3:12:51 PM: Rachel Tan: I only trust the website sorry
8/11/17, 3:13:12 PM: Rachel Tan: And I believe it can be cancelled
8/11/17, 3:13:51 PM: Rachel Tan: Just that the amount small, they don’t bother to help

8/11/17, 3:17:20 PM: Gaynor Reid: Well I am sitting at the bank here and yes can be cancelled but will take three days as I said before – so there is nothing that will make this faster. As I said I am very sorry but I have spent half my day trying to make this better and right now there is nothing we can do but wait and hope it will show up. Or is there some way I can leave the cash with someone in Singapore that we can both trust and then if you are not paid thru the bank you can pick up the cash? I am not trying to rip you off or make this difficult but I am not going to pay twice for something I already paid for.

8/11/17, 3:17:53 PM: Rachel Tan: You know what is cancel?
8/11/17, 3:18:09 PM: Rachel Tan: Cancel means the bank will return you the money
8/11/17, 3:18:28 PM: Rachel Tan: You don’t have another money to pay me now?
8/11/17, 3:19:26 PM: Gaynor Reid: Of course i have lots of money but I already paid you so won’t pay twice…I am sure in my shoes you wouldn’t either as you seem smart

8/11/17, 3:19:27 PM: Rachel Tan: Since the bank already says can be cancelled , you can proceed to pay me again
8/11/17, 3:19:47 PM: Rachel Tan: The bank will return your money in 3 days
8/11/17, 3:19:55 PM: Rachel Tan: You understand?
8/11/17, 3:20:16 PM: Rachel Tan: Bank is controlling the cancellation , not me
8/11/17, 3:20:25 PM: Rachel Tan: You are not paying me twice

8/11/17, 3:20:50 PM: Gaynor Reid: No I didn’t ask them to cancel because will take three days and needs you to agree first then I pay an extra 40 bucks so I still won’t pay again till the first money is cancelled – sorry but it won’t work out in time.
8/11/17, 3:21:45 PM: Gaynor Reid: My bank cant cancel without your bank so I can’t just do like that I am afraid or i would have already

8/11/17, 3:21:56 PM: Rachel Tan: There is nothing for me to agree because I did not receive anything
8/11/17, 3:22:32 PM: Gaynor Reid: Yes because it will take three days so no point
8/11/17, 3:22:39 PM: Gaynor Reid: Same as waiting on giro
8/11/17, 3:22:44 PM: Rachel Tan: No
8/11/17, 3:22:59 PM: Rachel Tan: Cancel on your bank side

8/11/17, 3:23:11 PM: Rachel Tan: Not after I receive then you cancel
8/11/17, 3:23:48 PM: Rachel Tan: They have not even make the giro transfer for today as cutoff time is 5pm
8/11/17, 3:23:58 PM: Rachel Tan: Anyway
8/11/17, 3:24:10 PM: Rachel Tan: No tickets until I receive the money
8/11/17, 3:24:26 PM: Rachel Tan: Meanwhile I will find another buyer
8/11/17, 3:25:10 PM: Rachel Tan: I won’t reply anymore until I receive the money
8/11/17, 3:25:20 PM: Rachel Tan: Don’t want to waste time on this

8/11/17, 3:30:25 PM: Gaynor Reid: You have got a buyer (and I have paid in full) and if you sell to someone else I will report you. This is called fraud. Agree we are both wasting time on this when I am sure you have better things to do. I will expect to receive the tickets when the money shows – if not by Friday we can discuss other options. Sure there is a way if you are reasonable

8/11/17, 3:33:39 PM: Rachel Tan: I know some one selling 3 cat 1 tickets
8/11/17, 3:33:47 PM: Rachel Tan: Maybe you can get from him
8/11/17, 3:34:14 PM: Gaynor Reid: I already bought from you as far as I can tell…

8/11/17, 3:34:28 PM: Rachel Tan: Nah
8/11/17, 3:34:37 PM: Rachel Tan: I have not received your funds
8/11/17, 3:34:45 PM: Rachel Tan: And you said 3 days

8/11/17, 3:34:53 PM: Gaynor Reid: But you know they are coming
8/11/17, 3:34:58 PM: Rachel Tan: Which I think is next monday
8/11/17, 3:35:06 PM: Rachel Tan: But the concert is this week
8/11/17, 3:35:14 PM: Rachel Tan: So I cannot wait for you
8/11/17, 3:35:33 PM: Rachel Tan: I can wait if the concert is not this week
8/11/17, 3:35:42 PM: Rachel Tan: I don’t know they are coming
8/11/17, 3:36:02 PM: Rachel Tan: As my friend has cancelled a transfer before but not hsbc

8/11/17, 3:38:11 PM: Gaynor Reid: Well honestly if I could have cancelled the transaction easily I would have done so but it was not a possibility. Now I have to put my trust in you and hope the bank can deliver in time – she said most times is a day or two not three. Either way let’s see what happens tmw and reassess but I still say if you sell to someone else now it will be fraud.

8/11/17, 3:43:47 PM: Gaynor Reid: Ok if you send me your ic card and full contact details so I know who I am dealing with I will process a second payment on account you also state in a message that you will refund the first payment. How does that sound?

8/11/17, 3:44:13 PM: Rachel Tan: Ok sure
8/11/17, 3:44:43 PM: Rachel Tan: 2017-11-08-PHOTO-00000148.jpg <‎attached>
8/11/17, 3:47:36 PM: Rachel Tan: I will refund the first payment
8/11/17, 3:47:42 PM: Rachel Tan: So?
8/11/17, 4:01:49 PM: Gaynor Reid: Just trying to get onto my husband but he us not answering- will let you know when i can get him

8/11/17, 6:01:27 PM: Gaynor Reid: Sorry my husband refuses to cancel and then resend as he feels it is dodgy so we are back to square one…can we check if the money goes in tmw and then see what can be done? My apologies – he didn’t like the way this has gone down
8/11/17, 6:02:41 PM: Rachel Tan: Zzz
8/11/17, 6:02:57 PM: Rachel Tan: You can pay on your own

8/11/17, 6:05:02 PM: Gaynor Reid: Actually i cant unless I can pay someone in cash – i hate banking in singapore so my husband does it all here and I do it all in australia
8/11/17, 6:05:49 PM: Rachel Tan: You can pay by cash using cash deposit machine

8/11/17, 6:58:37 PM: Gaynor Reid: Yes I could do that but first let’s see if the money turns up from the transfer – don’t know about you but this has not been a fun day for me so I will leave you in peace until tmw. Again apologies for the convoluted process but it was not intended and I am sure we could both have done without this annoyance for what should be a simple transaction.
8/11/17, 6:59:17 PM: Rachel Tan: Not turn up yet
8/11/17, 6:59:39 PM: Rachel Tan: And I have other buyers waiting

8/11/17, 7:00:54 PM: Gaynor Reid: So you will refund my money if you sell to someone else? I feel this whole interaction with you has not been a good one
8/11/17, 7:01:39 PM: Rachel Tan: Sure will refund if I receive later
8/11/17, 7:02:07 PM: Rachel Tan: Not good for me too
8/11/17, 7:02:26 PM: Rachel Tan: I sent you my ic and you lied

8/11/17, 7:02:27 PM: Gaynor Reid: Well it is up to you and your conscience now – I cannot make any more assurances to you that we have transferred the money!
8/11/17, 7:03:10 PM: Gaynor Reid: And no I have been honest with you all the way
8/11/17, 7:03:43 PM: Rachel Tan: ?
8/11/17, 9:55:06 PM: Rachel Tan: Tickets sold
8/11/17, 9:55:19 PM: Rachel Tan: Good luck buying ticket

9/11/17, 9:28:25 AM: Gaynor Reid: Ok I have filed a police report and they have said if you don’t refund the money within 3 days of receiving my money they will be in touch with you. Please confirm when the money hits your account and I will provide my details so you can refund.
9/11/17, 12:03:34 PM: Rachel Tan: Not sold yet
9/11/17, 12:03:46 PM: Rachel Tan: You still want the tickets?
9/11/17, 12:04:35 PM: Gaynor Reid: Not from you thanks – got others already. Just need you to refund my money when it comes thru.

9/11/17, 12:05:29 PM: Rachel Tan: You buy from who?
9/11/17, 12:05:49 PM: Rachel Tan: Not refunding anymore sorry
9/11/17, 12:05:53 PM: Rachel Tan: Bye

9/11/17, 12:06:02 PM: Gaynor Reid: Yes i think you will be

9/11/17, 1:17:52 PM: Gaynor Reid: You know what I find amusing is that you screwed me over and not the other way around. I would not have bought from someone else if you had not told me you had sold the tickets that I had already paid you for and this would all have been fine. Either way I spent 50 mins with the police this morning before work and half an hour at the bank and I think you would be well advised to refund my money or this will not go well for you. Look fwd to hearing when you have received the payment so I can provide my details for the refund.
10/11/17, 3:58:44 PM: Gaynor Reid: Have the funds turned up yet?

From the chat log above, you’ll see that the Rachel Tan account repeatedly pressured Gaynor into paying through the fastest and most insecure means online. From the start, Rachel was disdainful and disrespectful to Gaynor.

While Gaynor had asked for an ID, this was the image sent to her:

Even after the bank transaction was verified, Rachel still wanted to push for faster money transfer and even asked for another payment. She wanted Gaynor to cancel the first transaction and pay her another way through a faster method.

At some point, she even told Gaynor that she would sell the tickets elsewhere if she did not get the money immediately–even if the money was already on the way to Rachel’s account.

Luckily, Gaynor’s husband was able to stop her from making a second transaction. At that point, Rachel was also asking for a refund. It’s important to note that Rachel never showed Gaynor any record of her own bank transactions to prove that she did not receive the money.

In the end, the Rachel Tan account did not refund the money.

Scalping is everywhere

After the first scam, Gaynor still had to find tickets for her daughter. What was she to do? She tried her luck with one of the most popular sites for tickets, viagogo–which is now in hot water for selling tickets with hardly any security for buyers.

What would happen to Gaynor is another scam, as all the tickets sold from the site were cancelled by Ed Sheeran’s camp, since they were discouraging scalpers from mass-buying the tickets. Viagogo hosted ticket sellers and were not actually handling the tickets themselves.

In a report by The Telegraph, Ed Sheeran’s camp cancelled almost 10,000 tickets that were scooped up scalpers and resellers when the online slots went on sale. Some tickets that cost around $80 were being sold at almost $270,000! Other times, people would get quoted a small amount for a set of tickets then would suddenly have to pay double or triple because of “fees” and “VAT” that get added to a transaction they could not review–meaning that with just one click, they paid a huge amount on their card.

Google has been criticised for allowing viagogo ads to run on their program, which lead people to believe that the tickets were being sold by an official partner. The only official partner for tickets was Twickets.

Ed Sheeran’s camp has tried to get in touch with viagogo, but had been turned away.

Gaynor was one of the people who were scammed by viagogo, and has yet to receive any refund.

Is it the end?

For her quest to give her daughter an unforgettable experience, it is the end. But at least, there was a happy ending. Gaynor and her daughter were able to watch Ed Sheeran in concert and would do so again.

Gaynor had to pay for tickets at the event itself, though, which meant that these slots would be the highest price the tickets would ever sell officially.

What about that Rachel account?

According to Gaynor, she has already filed police reports and contacted her bank for a refund. Police have told her that at least five people were arrested on the concert grounds for scalping tickets.

The identification card sent to Gaynor has proven to be stolen.

The account used to scam her on Carousell has been proven to be fake, and has scammed a lot of other people as well. Investigations are ongoing and she hopes that she can get resolution in a few weeks.

How do I stop myself from being scammed?

Thanks to the internet and anonymity, it’s quite easy to get cheated out of your money and never see any of it again.

Read on how to avoid scams here.

For limited items such as tickets, it’s important that you buy only from the official ticket sellers. New technology and techniques have been used to discourage overpricing and scalping. Large concerts and plays have required ticket holders to present information, emails and even the card used to purchase the tickets before they can be allowed inside theatres or event grounds.

What do you think of that scammer? Have you had an experience like this before? Let us know in the comments!

Header image via Shutterstock.