CASE warns against buying BTS concert tickets from unofficial sources after Carousell listing seen
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CASE’s president Melvin Yong said it is aware of a listing on Carousell “advertising ‘BTS 2026 World Tour Singapore’ tickets at $88, although ticket sales have not yet begun”.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM CAROUSELL
SINGAPORE – Fans of K-pop band BTS should buy tickets for its concerts in Singapore
In a Facebook post on Jan 14, CASE president Melvin Yong said the organisation is aware of a listing on Carousell “advertising ‘BTS 2026 World Tour Singapore’ tickets at $88, although ticket sales have not yet begun”.
The Straits Times found, at about 10.30pm on Jan 14, two listings by the same seller on Carousell, purportedly selling tickets to the band’s concert in Singapore.
BTS is set to play in Singapore after seven years, on Dec 17, 19, 20 and 22 – the most number of shows to be held by the group here to date.
In his Facebook post, Mr Yong added that as details of the concerts, including ticket sales, have not been announced, CASE advised consumers to not buy tickets from unauthorised online sellers as they risk getting scammed.
“Consumers are encouraged to purchase tickets only through official and authorised ticketing channels, and to avoid making advance payments to unverified sellers, especially when tickets have not yet been officially released,” Mr Yong said in his post.
He added that most ticket providers had stated in their terms and conditions that they would void tickets that were deemed to have been resold.
“The Consumer Protection Review Panel is actively engaging ticket service providers to expedite the roll-out of authorised ticket sale platforms, to provide consumers with greater certainty that tickets resold on proper platforms are legitimate,” said Mr Yong.
The panel is also studying suggestions, such as phasing out paper tickets and digital tickets with dynamic QR codes, he added.
Consumers who need assistance may contact CASE at 6277-5100 or through its website.
In a media reply on Jan 15, Carousell said listings offering pre-orders of concert tickets and help-to-buy services are allowed on its platform, provided they are non-fraudulent.
It encouraged consumers to take precautions when making such transactions on its platform, such as to arrange for physical meet-ups with sellers to verify the availability and authenticity of the tickets before making any payment.
Those who prefer their tickets delivered should buy from listings that come with buyer protection should they not receive their orders, a Carousell spokesperson said.
On its part, the platform said all sellers must verify their accounts via Singpass before they are allowed to list concert tickets for sale.
Also, it uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect suspicious and prohibited listings, the spokesperson said, though adding that the use of such tools have limitations.
“Due to a wide number of events that can happen at a time, it’s operationally difficult for us as a platform to track sale and event dates,” she said, adding that sellers may try to bypass detection tools by miscategorising listings.
“We strongly encourage our community to report questionable listings directly through the Report Listing feature in-app or on the web.”
BTS’ most recent performance in Singapore was a one-night show at the National Stadium in January 2019
The group went on a hiatus in June 2022 when all its members had to serve their mandatory military service, regrouping in June 2025
In Spotify’s 2025 year-end report, the group were the most-streamed K-pop artiste on the music platform.
