More than 100 Taylor Swift fans from the Philippines who were eager to see the pop superstar perform live during her "Eras Tour" stops in Singapore were allegedly scammed out of more than $250,000 by a ticket seller. Enstarz spoke with one of the victims whose post about the unfortunate incident has gone viral online.

A man identified by victims as Pat Steve -- who is said to offer services such as selling concert tickets and shoes, and booking flights and hotels for clients -- has been accused of duping over a hundred Filipino Swifties who paid him to help them score "Eras Tour" Singapore tickets and book their flights and hotel for the concert.

The ticket seller allegedly deceived Swift's fans for months until the alleged scam was uncovered this week -- just days before the "Anti-Hero" hitmaker is set to kick off her six sold-out Singapore shows on March 2.

Social media page Philippine Concerts, which has over 360,000 followers on X, formerly Twitter, reported the alleged scam Thursday, writing: "This scammer is in his cruel summer era, with nearly 15 million pesos ($268,000) taken away from over 100 victims in the Philippines."

The account called it the "biggest concert tickets scam in the Philippines."

The fans who bought the tickets discovered the alleged scam after Ticketmaster announced that it would be releasing copies of e-tickets for the upcoming shows this week.

One of the victims, Sharielle Yanson-Quinto, a digital creator and vice president at a local non-profit, shared on Facebook that none of the alleged people who bought "Eras Tour" passes from Pat Steve received a ticket.

The Miss World Philippines 2019 finalist, who said she was part a group chat of more than 100 other clients of Pat Steve, added that the ticket seller informed them he reached out to Ticketmaster for an explanation and a solution for the missing tickets.

She claimed that Pat Steve has since stopped responding to her and other clients' attempts to contact him.

Yanson-Quinto exclusively spoke with Enstarz and shared that she believes Pat Steve and another person known as Cai Lazaro "scammed" her and more than 100 others who bought their concert tickets and booked their flights to Singapore and hotel accommodations through the two entities.

"Many people are also messaging me now, saying they were scammed by Pat and Cai years ago...I think they are a circle of scammers," Yanson-Quinto told Enstarz in Filipino.

"It's best to stop them by spreading their names and [creating] awareness."

Yanson-Quinto said she and others have asked for refunds, but none have been provided so far.

X user @jeongpomu also shared purported screenshots of a client's Facebook chat with Pat Steve, who allegedly claimed that Ticketmaster voided all the "Eras Tour" tickets he purchased because his accounts were reported for suspected "fraudulent activities."

Past clients, including some influencers, had reportedly vouched for Pat Steve, which helped him build a large client list. However, Yanson-Quinto claimed the alleged fraud has since scammed some of these people over the Taylor Swift tickets.

"Clients from his previous legit transactions, he also cheated on for the 'Eras Tours' tickets," she added.

Jeongpomu also shared purported screenshots of Pat Steve allegedly selling "Eras Tour" tickets for $570 and $1,020 on a private Facebook group for Filipino Swifties as recently as November 2023.

Enstarz could not verify the identity of Pat Steve or if the Pat Steve Facebook account mentioned by victims was using a stolen identity. Yanson-Quinto, however, confirmed to Enstarz that she personally communicated with Pat Steve, whom she identified as Patrick Steven Nanud Agorto, through Facebook, Instagram and X, the latter of which is now deactivated.

Enstarz reached out to Pat Steve for comment through his social media account but has not heard back.

A "mastermind"?

When Swift announced Singapore as her only "Eras Tour" stop in Southeast Asia back in June 2023, millions of fans competed for the 300,000 tickets available for her six shows in the country.

The "Eras Tour" Singapore tickets, priced $80 and up, sold out just hours after they went on sale in July 2023.

Yanson-Quinto thought she was among the lucky few who managed to snag two tickets for the record-breaking tour.

In her Facebook post, she said she bought two CAT 1 tickets -- each priced at nearly $260 (PHP14,500) from Pat Steve. The victim told Enstarz that her brother-in-law successfully bought VIP tickets to a BLACKPINK concert from Pat Steve during an in-person meeting in March 2023. However, unlike him, she only communicated with the alleged scammer through social media.

She was told that the tickets were bought through the ticketing platform Klook and that she and her companion would be entering the National Stadium with the Klook account's owner on the day of the concert. Along with the tickets, she also booked her flights and hotel through Pat Steve.

Yanson-Quinto soon noticed her "first red flag" when she was forced to resell her concert tickets, flight tickets and hotel booking because she found out she was pregnant. She was later told her flights got canceled and the hotel accommodations were connected to the flight booking and thus could not be transferred to another name.

She said Pat Steve put her in touch with Lazaro, who was allegedly in charge of booking the flights and hotel room. She was promised a refund by Jan. 15. However, she said Lazaro allegedly deactivated her social media account without refunding the money.

Yanson-Quinto told Enstarz she believes the amount Pat Steve received for the "Eras Tour" tickets and other alleged fraudulent transactions may be higher than the reported $268,000.

"I think it's more than 20 million [Philippine Peso]," or about $350,000.

Some victims reported having transactions worth between PHP400,000 to PHP600,000 ($7,100 to $10,700) with Pat Steve, according to screenshots of group chat conversations shared with Enstarz. The names of the other victims were censored to protect their identities.

In the comments section of her Facebook post, many others backed Sharielle's claims.

One user urged victims to "file a case" against Pat Steve, who was allegedly "wanted for scamming people."

"A massive issue like this should reach authorities," another wrote.

A third user alleged that Pat Steve was a well-known "scammer" in the "sneaker game."

Another Facebook user claimed they also successfully bought BLACKPINK concert tickets from Pat Steve last year but encountered similar troubles as the Swifties when they bought tickets for an ENHYPEN show. The user said Pat Steve made them wait a very long time before entually refunding their money.

Yanson-Quinto and other victims have not said whether they plan to take legal action against the alleged scammer.

Taylor Swift is set to perform a six-day sold out concert at the National Stadium in Singapore, a 60,000-capacity venue, from March 2 to 9. Since it's the only stop in Southeast Asia, Swifties from all over the world are expected to fly in for the show.

Tags
Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour