In the world of Kpopers, having Kpop idol merchandise such as albums, photocards , photobooks , lightsticks and the like is something one dreams of. Not only sold in offline stores , Kpop merchandise is also sold on official websites such as Kpoptown, KTOWN4U, Soundwave, Hottracks, as well as online shops for certain Kpop groups such as Weverse, YG Select, SMStore and others. To make it easier to buy in large quantities ( bulk ) and reduce tax or shipping costs, several people form a GO ( order group ) consisting of the GO admin and several buyers.
Apart from fraud in buying and selling concert tickets, it turns out that Kpop merchandise is also being targeted by scammers to make profits by cheating. About a day ago ( the incident occurred around December 5 2023), resident What is the chronology? Let’s discuss it!
What is GO?
GO is an abbreviation for Group Order, where this group consists of GO admins and several buyers . Usually, GO is on social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram or Line. GO Admin helps bridge buyer transactions with international sellers such as from Japan, China, Thailand or even Korea itself. The existence of GO helps sellers and buyers in facilitating buying and selling Kpop merch transactions. The information on GO is about details of what merch is being sold, the costs of buying and selling merch including postage and shipping costs, as well as the goods delivery track . With GO, information about Kpop merch is easier to disseminate because the merch that is bought and sold is usually shared .
GO Scam Case
Kpop merch scam cases actually often occur in Indonesia. In contrast to scalpers who sell concert tickets (especially on concert days) at very unreasonable prices, which can be up to 3x the original price, KPop merch scammers are crueler and very detrimental. They act as if they are a trusted and trustworthy party, but it turns out they can falsify their personal data and take away the buyer’s money without leaving the slightest news.
Concert Ticket Scam
In buying and selling concert tickets, there is the term “jastip” or entrustment service. GO registration of concert tickets is usually carried out by individual GO admins who buy tickets online on the promoter’s official website concert. Because tickets are obtained using a ” war” system, which means that concert tickets are hunted down by fighting over them, the chances of getting tickets are very small, that’s why this business was created. The fee set for one concert ticket is usually between IDR 300,000 – 500,000 rupiah.
On July 11 2023, a 30-year-old scammer with the initials ES was arrested after making a profit of tens of millions of rupiah through ticket tickets for the Boyband NCT Dream concert. The perpetrator was arrested after dozens of victims finally reported it. Not only Kpop concert tickets, recently the media was shocked by the Coldplay concert ticket scam by a 19 year old woman with the initials GD who managed to make a profit of around 5.1 billion. Wow, that’s really scary!
Kpop Merchandise Scam
Around December 5 2023 , a netizen Until the post went viral enough and spread widely, other victims began to emerge and reveal their testimonies about the GO. This GO has two names, namely “Warung Dreamies” and “Warung Kpopers”. GO has social media Whatsapp and Line, and even has official TikTok and Instagram accounts.
Initially, GO was considered trusted and had many satisfying testimonials. The merchandise it sells is also relatively cheap, so it can attract many buyers . Until suddenly many victim testimonials appeared, where the product they sent was empty and contained no merch at all. Several people posted testimonials and threads about the chronology of product orders until news of the scammer disappeared.
Tips for Being Careful When Snacking on Kpop Merch
It’s really unfortunate, friend. Even though the price of Kpop merch is not as expensive as concert tickets, scam behavior like this is still not justified. Here are some tips that you can apply before deciding to buy Kpop merch on GO.
Check their social media accounts
Before deciding to sell your favorite merch on a GO, first make sure the GO has official social media, such as Instagram or X. From there you can get information such as when the GO was founded, the purchase history of previous buyers and their testimonials. Make sure the profile photo used is original and not stolen from Google.
If GO is only available on Line, make sure you check the notes and album features to see if they include web checkout proof . But if GO is only available on WhatsApp social media, you can check the seller’s number with a telephone number checking application such as Getcontact. Ask some of your acquaintances or ask on the Kpopers community base forum whether GO is trusted or not.
Make sure you meet face to face
If you want to make a purchase in a large amount and nominal amount, make sure to ask for personal data or the identity of the GO admin or seller . Its purpose is as collateral. Even if necessary, make sure to call / make a video call with the GO admin or seller. If they are not fraudsters, they should not mind being confirmed via video call. It’s even better if you can meet face to face to confirm your doubts.
Check Account Number
When you get to the payment stage, make sure to check the authenticity of the GO admin or seller account number. You can check your account number on the website https://cekrekening.id . This is to minimize fraud and confirm your suspicions. How to check your account can be done in the following steps:
- Access the site https://cekrekening.id
- Select the “Check Account” menu
- Click “Check Now”
- Select the account type, either Bank or E-Wallet
- Enter the name of the bank and account number you want to search for
- Check the verification column
- Click “Check Now”
- Wait until the system finishes looking for information about the account
- If an account number has been reported as fraudulent, information will appear under the account number indicating it is fraudulent, complete with report history.
- If not, the information will appear “This Account Number Has Never Been Reported Regarding Any Fraud”
Screenshots of All Evidence
Don’t forget to ask the GO admin for any proof and screenshot all types of transactions as proof. In this digital era, gadgets that have advanced features make things easier for us. With the advancement of this communication system, the screenshot feature is very useful for securing all forms of transaction evidence. Don’t forget to save all proof of your transaction history!
With increasingly sophisticated gadgets , all forms of transactions have become easier. But don’t forget to be careful and stay alert, because fraud can happen at any time, by anyone and anywhere!
