Singapore TikToker loses S$800 in scam while trying to buy EXO concert ticket, uses it as learning experience
“I just want to cry at this point,” Clara Soh said after losing S$800 to a scam that promised her a much-coveted concert ticket for one of her favourite boy bands, EXO.
She only realised she had been scammed while waiting to meet up with the ‘ticket seller’.
Despite her disappointment and self-criticism, she decided to use her mistake to help spread awareness about the scam so others could learn from it.
Source: @clarasohjw on TikTok
Tickets sold out on Ticketmaster and Carousell
Clara Soh, a 31-year-old TikTok content creator, had her sights set on tickets for the EXO concert on 24 July.
The South Korean-Chinese K-pop boy band was holding a concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium that evening.
Source: Live Nation SG on Facebook
Ms Soh told MS News that she had been a big fan of EXO since their debut in 2012, but had never attended a concert before.
She said: “Waited till I had my adult money to want to attend [the concert].”
Unfortunately for Ms Soh, other fans had snatched up all the tickets on Ticketmaster and Carousell before she could.
“So, I did the dumbest thing,” she said, explaining that she went to X (formerly Twitter) in search of a concert ticket.
Source: @clarasohjw on TikTok
‘I believed in humanity’: EXO ticket scam victim
Ms Soh found an X user selling extra tickets. The individual claimed they had a friend at Ticketmaster who had extra tickets to sell.
She was put into WhatsApp contact with the supposed ‘Ticketmaster friend’, who was actually also a scammer.
Ms Soh paid a S$150 initial deposit via PayNow and asked to meet the ticket seller in person before she paid the rest of the fee.
However, the scammer reassured her that the “safe transfer” could be done completely online. Ms Soh thus transferred the remaining S$200 to get her ticket.
She admitted that there were red flags, including the fact that the scammer had a Thailand phone number.
“But I believed in humanity, and did not realise I was slowly becoming the victim of a scam,” she told MS News.
Image courtesy of Clara Soh
The scammer also claimed to be part of EXO-L, the boy band’s fan club, and assured her there was “no intention to scam” her.
Scammer claims wrong tickets sent instead, asks woman for S$450 more to fix mistake
Then, at 12.48pm, they pretended to have mistakenly sent her two VIP tickets instead, worth S$800 in total.
The scammer told her that the tickets belonged to someone else and asked for Ms Soh’s “utmost cooperation”.
Image courtesy of Clara Soh
“The only way you will receive the e-ticket is by a complete full payment of S$800, which means you need to add S$450,” the scammer claimed.
Once this was done, the two VIP tickets would supposedly be in her account. The scammer then promised to pay her back in full, plus S$20, when she returned the tickets to them.
Ms Soh hesitated, saying it was “a little risky” for her to pay S$450 for a mistake that she did not make.
Image courtesy of Clara Soh
However, the scammer pressured her about the situation, promising her not to worry and that it was a safe transfer.
Woman realises EXO ticket sale was scam after waiting outside Indoor Stadium for an hour
Ms Soh ended up paying and arranged to meet the scammer outside the Singapore Indoor Stadium to sort out the wrong tickets issue.
She sent a photo of herself to the scammer, but waited for an hour without ever seeing them.
Image courtesy of Clara Soh
Just then, two girls came up to Ms Soh and asked if she was the ticket seller, as they had received the exact photo of her.
That’s when it all clicked, we were all being scammed.
She immediately made a police report, encouraging the two other victims to do the same.
“So, I lost S$800 in total because I wanted to watch my EXO concert. How stupid!” Ms Soh sighed.
Source: @clarasohjw on TikTok
Netizens praise victim for posting embarrassing mistake to spread awareness
According to her, the money could not be retrieved as it had been moved to Thailand.
Looking back, Ms Soh explained to MS News that she had been put at ease after finding out that PayNow transfers are trackable from a Google search.
She did not realise that the money could be transferred to Thailand via a QR code using PayNow-PromptPay.
Once the funds are moved out of the country, there is no way the bank or police can help to trace it back.
Ms Soh decided to take the experience as a learning lesson.
She also recorded her “stupid moment” experience so others on TikTok would not fall for the same scam.
In the comments section, many praised her honesty and efforts for wanting to spread awareness.
Source: TikTok
“Do not believe everything you Google. Do not think that everything online has a transaction and can be traced,” she added.
Also read: Scammer poses as police officer with MP as profile pic, victim loses over S$1M
Scammer poses as police officer with MP as profile pic, victim loses over S$1M
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Featured image adapted from Clara Soh, @clarasohjw on TikTok, and Live Nation SG on Facebook.
