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By Chiu Chun-fu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Prosecutors are seeking the detention of Johnny Chen (陳卿翊), the alleged head of a ticket scalping ring, over accusations that he used bots to illegally secure concert tickets in contravention of the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法).
The tixCraft system, used for the purchase of concert tickets online, employs dual modes of identity verification — requiring buyers to provide a copy of their national ID and their birth name, which must be the same as on the ID.
The operators of the tixCraft system last year told the Criminal Investigation Bureau that someone was using forged or stolen IDs to purchase tickets.
Photo: Taipei Times
Investigators accused Chen of hiring engineers to write code that would allow them to exploit the system and purchase tickets to concerts, especially those of South Korean pop groups, a source said.
The group allegedly hired engineers to use false information and fake identities to register accounts across major ticketing platforms, police said.
Using the accounts, they allegedly deployed software to secure tickets in bulk, which they resold to the public at inflated prices, police said.
In situations where they needed to submit real-name information, the group allegedly would either collect buyers’ names and ID numbers in advance to complete purchases or use ID-generating software to fabricate details, police said.
To counter scalping, platforms require buyers to collect physical tickets five to seven days before events.
However, the group allegedly set up an operations center and dispatched members to pick up tickets from convenience stores, police said, adding that the tickets were mailed in batches to buyers, or sold on Facebook and Instagram with a 10 percent markup.
Tickets with good seat would be sold at higher percentage markups, they said.
The CIB and the Taipei City Police Department on Wednesday searched Chen’s residence and his office.
Chen and two people who allegedly worked with him on the operation were questioned, police said.
Police seized tickets for a concert by South Korean rapper and singer G-Dragon, whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong, as well as tickets for the South Korean girl group ITZY.
They also confiscated a computer and cellphone belonging to Chen. The other two suspects were released without bail following questioning, police said.
The Taipei District Court had not announced a decision on the request to detain Chen.