Sofia Pablo | Images: Instagram, @sofiapablo/Facebook, Philippine Concert
GMA talent Sofia Pablo is among the victims of what is deemed to be the biggest concert ticket scam in the Philippines, which involves millions of pesos in ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in Singapore.
On Facebook, Philippine Concert posted that the scammer got away with nearly P15 million from 100 victims in the Philippines, which Pablo reposted with the caption, “I’m one of the 100 victims (sad face).”
The “Prima Donnas” actress replied to a fan’s comment that she is supposed to attend the March 3 concert of the pop icon’s Singapore leg of the Eras tour but has been scammed.
Given the absence of the Philippines in Swift’s concert destinations for the Eras tour, many Filipinos tried their luck and gambled on getting tickets to nearby countries, specifically Singapore and Japan.
On social media, a few of the victims came forward to share their experience with the scammer, saying it was an individual named Patrick Steven Nanud Agorto, also known as Pat Steve on Facebook, who had allegedly scammed them.
User @jeongpomu on X (former Twitter) posted a thread detailing their experience with the said scammer. Based on the screenshots provided, Agorto sold the same tickets to several people. The victims discovered this through a Facebook group dedicated to the Eras Tour in Singapore.
Aside from concert tickets, the alleged scammer also offered flight and hotel booking assistance. The netizen also alleged that Agorto has been scamming people since 2019 and continues to get away with his wrongdoings.
⚠️ #TheErasTourInSG SCAMMER ALERT
I am posting this for the sake of the 100+ people (probably more) scammed by PATRICK STEVEN NANUD AGORTO aka PAT STEVE aka PATRICK STEVEN AGORTO
And for the public to be aware as well
Please help spread @TSTheErasTourSG @TSTheErasTour pic.twitter.com/if0TbcQxIe
— j (@jeongpomu) February 22, 2024
Swift’s Eras tour is the most sought after among fans all over the world and scammers are taking advantage of the fans’ enthusiasm and desperation to attend the concert.
As one of the measures to combat some more potential scams, Marketplace Carousell suspended the sale of the “Cruel Summer” singer concert tickets from Feb. 23 to March 9 in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan by removing the existing listings selling tickets.
“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 apologizes for the inconvenience caused,” said the e-commerce company.