Fans scammed trying to obtain Blackpink Hanoi concert tickets

Thu, 23, saw a person asking VND2 million for a ticket originally priced at VND1.8 million on a Facebook group Saturday.

"I think those who resell tickets for lower prices are scammers, so I thought I would pay a bit higher to be sure," she says.

The seller had assured Thu that tickets had gone up in prices, and she wouldn’t be able to find another for VND 2 million. Believing the seller, Thu transferred the money to them. When she checked again a few minutes later, she realized she was blocked.

Blackpink is set to perform at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium on July 29 and 30. Photo from Blackpink’s Twitter

Thu was not the only one scammed out of money for Blackpink tickets. Many social media users have reported scams and the administrators of many Facebook groups related to Blackpink tickets pinned warnings regarding scams to the top of the group.

Loan Dao, the administrator of a Facebook group like that, says that tickets to Blackpink’s Hanoi concerts have been the hottest topic in her group since Friday, when the tickets went on sale.

"I’ve seen many citing unexpected schedule changes as their reasons for having to sell the tickets," Loan says. "Some might be telling the truth, but scammers could also take this reasoning as their cover."

Victims are often blocked by scammers on the platform they used to communicate shortly after transferring the money, which makes it hard for them to find the scammers again and nearly impossible to get their money back.

The non-profit initiative Chong Lua Dao (Scam Fighters) put out warnings regarding Blackpink’s upcoming Hanoi concerts Sunday. According to them, concert-related scams could also take the form of selling tickets in hard copies while official tickets are actually only digitally distributed. Some impersonate the event’s organizers. Neither of these are new tactics, but they do still prove to be effective.

"You should be careful when buying tickets from unauthorized websites, fanpages, or individuals," Ngo Minh Hieu, founder of Chong Lua Dao says. "Remember to verify the information before transferring the money."

Loan suggests that people should ask their sellers to send screenshots of ticket bookings confirmation, identity documents, and verified mobile phone number before transferring money. She also asked members in her Facebook group to wait for a few days until ticket prices become more stable.

Ticketbox, the concerts’ official ticket distributor, also warns about fake websites. For example, a fake website, which uses the domain ".tv" [instead of ".vn"] and has a totally similar interface with the ticket portal’s official website, has been identified. People accessing this fake website were asked to input their personal details and transfer money to a bank account, only to get fake tickets sent to their mail addresses.

A website impersonating the website of the event’s official ticket distributor. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy

Blackpink announced last month that they would hold their first concert in Vietnam on July 29-30 at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium.

Tickets to the concerts went on public sale on July 7, priced at VND1.2-9.8 million.

The group was formed in 2016, including Jisoo, Lisa, Rosé, and Jennie.

They quickly achieved huge success in South Korea before becoming one of the most popular girl groups in the world.

Their two studio albums, "The Album" and "Born Pink," achieved massive success internationally, with the latter topping the Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart, making them the first K-pop girl group to do so.