Blackpink ticket scams con fans out of $26k in just 2 weeks, previous victims as young as 10
More than $26,000 has been lost to scams related to K-pop group Blackpink's upcoming concert since the release of tickets on June 10.
At least 18 cases were reported, the police said on June 24.
Blackpink's highly anticipated Deadline World Tour Concert will be held at the National Stadium on Nov 29 and 30.
The scam victim would come across offers for the sale of Blackpink concert tickets on messaging or social media platforms such as Telegram, Carousell, Xiaohongshu, Facebook Messenger, and Viagogo.com.
Some scammers would provide screenshots or videos of fake tickets or receipts to convince the victims that the tickets were authentic.
Scammers would also claim that ticket sales were time-sensitive or limited in quantity, and they would promise to deliver the tickets to the victims after the payment was successful.
In some cases, when the victims did not receive their concert tickets, the scammer would request for additional payments to be made, claiming they did not receive the payments made by the victims.
The victims would realise they had been scammed when their tickets didn't arrive or when the seller became uncontactable.
The police advise the public to purchase Blackpink concert tickets from Ticketmaster, the authorised platform for ticketing services.
They highlight Ticketmaster's terms and conditions, which state that Blackpink concert tickets cannot be transferred or resold. Those who are found to have purchased resale tickets will be turned away from the concert at Singapore Sports Hub, with no refund.
The police have reached out to platforms such as Carousell, Facebook Marketplace, and TikTok to take down listings of resale tickets.
They added: "Tickets would only be issued to buyers via their Ticketmaster account typically around two weeks prior to the event. Ticketmaster will never issue tickets via email.
"The public should also be wary of resellers claiming to be able to transfer their tickets to your Ticketmaster account after purchase, as the tickets are strictly not transferrable."
In 2023, when Blackpink last performed in Singapore, at least 128 scam reports were lodged in relation to the girl group's Born Pink concert, with total losses amounting to at least $206,000. The victims were mostly female Singaporean students aged between 10 and 29.
The public is advised to download the ScamShield App and report any fraudulent advertisements they see to the respective social media and e-commerce platforms.
Call and check with the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if you are unsure if something is a scam. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.
