BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's police authority has launched a year-long campaign to crack down on ticket scalping and scalpers in sectors ranging from popular concerts, art performances and sporting events to appointment slots for museum and tourist sites.
The Ministry of Public Security asked police authorities nationwide to comprehensively strengthen measures to crack down on violations, prevent and control further offenses, and better regulate relevant sectors.
It required severe punishment for organized criminal groups of "professional" scalpers. Efforts will focus on investigating and punishing criminal gangs that use cheating software to snatch tickets, disrupting the collusion between scalpers and business insiders. Additionally, there will be regulations implemented for online platforms used in ticket scalping.
Furthermore, coordination with relevant departments such as the cyberspace regulator, as well as culture and tourism, sports, and cultural heritage agencies, should be enhanced to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism and achieve effective governance throughout the entire process covering ticket sales, circulation, verification and consumer rights protection, the ministry said.
Efforts should be made to thoroughly collect and examine information and tip-offs on scalping activities from various channels and to bust the developers of relevant cheating software, the ministry said, adding that business insiders who involved in scalping, including those work for the sponsors, ticketing platforms, and travel agencies, will also be strictly punished.
During the summer break, Beijing police have set up a special task force to tackle the illegal activities of scalpers who seize and resell tickets for scenic spots and appointment slots for popular universities, detaining nearly 180 individuals on criminal and administrative charges respectively.
The National Museum of China, collaborating with Beijing police, has intensified its efforts to combat ticket scalping. During the summer break, nearly 1.6 million people were vying for 26,000 available tickets daily.
Key measures include enhancing identity verification to prevent fraudulent bookings, and blocking virtual phone numbers and high-frequency IP addresses. ■