June 25, 2025
SINGAPORE – At least $26,000 has been lost in about two weeks to scams over fake concert tickets to shows by K-pop girl group Blackpink.
The police said on June 24 that there were at least 18 reported cases in which victims bought fake concert tickets through third-party platforms.
The K-pop quartet will stage two shows – on Nov 29 and Nov 30 – at the National Stadium as part of their highly anticipated Deadline world tour.
The police said that victims would respond to advertisements or listings of concert tickets for sale on online platforms such as Telegram, Carousell, X, Facebook Messenger, Viagogo.com and Xiaohongshu.
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 promise to deliver the tickets to the victims after successful payment.
In some cases, when victims did not receive their concert tickets, scammers would request additional payments by claiming that they did not receive the payments made by the victims.
It was only when the scammers became uncontactable or did not deliver the tickets that the victims realised they had been taken for a ride.
The police said that at least 128 scam reports were lodged in 2023 in relation to Blackpink’s Born Pink concerts in Singapore, with total losses amounting to at least $206,000. The victims were mostly female Singaporean students aged between 10 and 29.
The police added that under the terms and conditions of the sale of Blackpink concert tickets in Singapore, the tickets cannot be transferred or resold.
Those who are found to have purchased resale tickets will be turned away from the concert at the Singapore Sports Hub, where the National Stadium is located, with no refund.
The police have also reached out to platforms such as Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and TikTok to take down listings of resale tickets.
The police advise the public to download the ScamShield app and to purchase tickets to the Blackpink concert from only Ticketmaster, the authorised platform for ticketing services.
The public can also report the fraudulent advertisements.
To learn how to stay safe from scams, go to www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield helpline on 1799.