BTS Fans in Indonesia Warned of Rising Ticket Scams Ahead of Jakarta Concert
A number of fans of the South Korean boy band BTS in Indonesia have reported falling victim to ticket scams, with losses amounting to millions of rupiah. BTS is scheduled to perform in Jakarta from 26 to 29 December 2026 as part of their world tour, ‘ARIRANG’. Although the concert is still months away, tickets went on sale earlier this year and were met with overwhelming demand.
Difa, a fan from Malang, recounted her experience of trying to secure a VIP ticket after failing in the official ticket war, where she competed against at least 500,000 other people. Desperate to see the group live after waiting since 2019, she turned to social media platform Threads and found a seller offering VIP tickets for a reasonable price. The seller provided a copy of their identity card and a letter of authorisation, which convinced Difa the transaction was legitimate. She transferred a down payment of Rp2 million via GoPay, but the seller subsequently deleted their WhatsApp conversation history and disappeared. Difa realised she had been scammed and was unable to recover her money because the transfer was made through a digital wallet rather than a bank.
Lidya Agustini, a curator for the BTS ARMY Indonesia Amino (BAIA) community, confirmed that such scams are ‘quite rampant’. She noted a significant increase in secondary market ticket activity after official sales ended, with many fans still seeking tickets. Lidya explained that the high demand and limited ticket availability create a situation easily exploited by irresponsible individuals. She added that scammers are using increasingly sophisticated and convincing methods, sometimes posing as genuine fans to gain trust. BAIA has issued warnings on social media urging fans to be cautious when purchasing tickets from unofficial sources. Similar ticket fraud cases have also been reported in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Another fan, Amalia Novita, was defrauded twice while trying to obtain a VIP ticket. After securing standard tickets for concerts in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, she continued her search on Threads. She lost Rp250,000 to a person who claimed to be selling a ticket on behalf of their employer’s child. The scammer shared their live location to appear trustworthy, but disappeared after receiving the down payment. Novita was also scammed a second time by a different individual.