At least $68,200 lost in BTS Singapore concert ticket scams since June 1

At least $68,200 have been lost to scams involving tickets for the BTS' Arirang tour in Singapore, with at least 62 cases reported since June 1, said the police. 

BTS is scheduled to perform at the National Stadium on Dec 17, 19, 20 and 22.

In a statement on Wednesday (June 10), the police said that in most cases, scammers approached victims through the social media platform X. 

More recently, victims would come across the sale of concert tickets on social media platforms such as Instagram and Carousell.

In the reported cases, victims came across online posts advertising concert tickets and were instructed to make payment via PayNow or by scanning a PayNow QR code.

After receiving the initial payment, scammers would often request additional transfers, claiming the money was needed for administrative fees. 

Victims realised they had been scammed when the promised tickets failed to arrive.

On June 8, it was reported that scam losses involving the "sale" of the tickets had reached at least $11,000. 

Ticket sales for the four concerts were released in phases on Ticketmaster from June 3 to 5, and were sold out by June 5.

Police working with platforms to remove scam listings

The police reminded members of the public to purchase concert tickets only through authorised ticketing platforms such as Ticketmaster, whose terms and conditions prohibit the resale of tickets.

Ticketmaster also does not issue tickets via email, said the police. 

Concertgoers found using resale tickets may be denied entry to the venue without a refund.

To combat the scams, the police said they are working closely with X to identify and remove fraudulent accounts offering resale tickets for the concert, and has also engaged Carousell to take down related ticket listings.

Meanwhile, Meta does not allow content that promotes the buying, selling, or trading of event tickets on its Facebook Marketplace.

Similarly, TikTok's policies do not support the sale of concert tickets on its TikTok Shop.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com