Buy Blackpink tickets from only Ticketmaster to avoid getting scammed, say police

Straits Times

2 days ago

Ticketmaster is the only authorised platform for tickets to K-pop girl group Blackpink's shows on Nov 29 and 30 at the National Stadium, said the police. PHOTO: YG ENTERTAINMENT
Buy Blackpink tickets from only Ticketmaster to avoid getting scammed, say police
SINGAPORE - Those with an eye on tickets to K-pop girl group Blackpink's concerts in November should buy them only on Ticketmaster , said the police on June 12 .
Ticketmaster is the only authorised platform for tickets to the shows on Nov 29 and 30 at the National Stadium.
The police's advisory comes after the pre-sale for Blackpink's Singapore concerts began on June 10 and the Visa Infinite pre-sale started on June 11. General sales kick-off on June 13 at 11am.
Tickets range from $168 to $428 , excluding booking fees.
A check by The Straits Times on online marketplace Carousell on June 12 showed listings for tickets priced as high as $1,700 .
The police added that at least 1,050 reports of scams were lodged involving tickets to Taylor Swift's concert in 2024, with losses totalling at least $658,000 .
Victims of such scams came across advertisements for concert tickets on messaging and social media platforms, where scammers sometimes showed screenshots or videos of fake tickets to convince them that the tickets are real.
Conmen also claimed there were limited numbers of tickets, which were on sale only for a short period, and promised to deliver the tickets to the victims after successful payment.
In cases where victims did not receive their concert tickets, scammers claimed they did not receive payment and asked for more money.
These victims realised they had been scammed only when the scammers did not deliver the tickets or became uncontactable, while some of those who received their tickets discovered that their tickets were invalid at concert venues.
Those who are found with resale tickets will be turned away from the concert at the Singapore Sports Hub , with no refund, said the police. Ticketmaster's terms and conditions for the sale of these tickets state clearly that tickets cannot be transferred or resold.
The police added that it has reached out to platforms like Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and TikTok to remove listings for resale tickets.
Also, tickets would typically only be issued to buyers via their Ticketmaster account about two weeks before the event. Ticketmaster will never issue tickets via e-mail.
'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,' said the police.
To avoid falling for such scams, buyers should use the ScamShield app and set security features, such as transaction limits for internet banking, the police added.
If they are unsure if something is a scam, they can call the ScamShield helpline on 1799 . They can also check the legitimacy of suspicious phone numbers, messages and website links through the ScamShield app.
For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.
Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.