BTS concert ticket scams : 41 cases recorded with losses nearing RM96,000

KUALA LUMPUR – Fans' excitement to secure tickets for the BTS World Tour concert has been exploited by scam syndicates offering fake tickets on social media, with 41 cases involving losses of nearly RM96,000 recorded so far.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Director, Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa, stated that monitoring revealed syndicates are using social media platforms to offer tickets, particularly for the VIP, Soundcheck, and Priority Access categories, for the concert scheduled to take place on Dec 12 and 13.

"The identified modus operandi involves offering tickets before the official sale or pre-sale opens, alongside claims of having insider access and special quotas to obtain hard-to-get tickets.

"They also use fake screenshots as proof of booking and instruct victims to make immediate payments via bank transfers, DuitNow, or QR codes under the guise of securing the ticket reservations," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rusdi added that once the payment is made, victims either do not receive the promised tickets or the suspects become unreachable.

"A total of 41 scam cases related to the sale of BTS concert tickets have been recorded so far, with total losses reaching RM95,974.81," he said.

He noted that based on current trends, the CCID assesses the risk of scams related to BTS concert tickets to be at an alarming level. It is expected to rise further once official tickets are sold out due to high demand among fans.

"The 'Fear of Missing Out' (FOMO) factor has also been identified as one of the reasons why fans easily fall prey to unauthorized ticket offers," he said.

He concluded by stating that individuals who suspect they have fallen victim to a scam should immediately contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) at 997 to enable swift action.

"CCID will continue to monitor scam trends related to entertainment event ticket sales and take appropriate action against any parties involved."