Thai police have busted a gang that operated more than 350 X accounts to scam people by selling tickets for concerts, festivals and fan meetings of Thai and international artists, but never delivered them.
Online complaints linked to seven suspects, between the ages of 22–37, totalling 739 cases, with losses exceeding 3.7 million baht, Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, deputy chief of the Anti Cyber Scam Centre (ACSC), said on Wednesday.
Most of the victims were fans of popular artists, who were eager to buy tickets that had already sold out on official platforms. “They were easily convinced to make the purchase,” he said.
In one case filed at Huai Khwang police station in Bangkok, a victim lost 3,000 baht after being tricked into paying a deposit — half of the 6,000-baht ticket price — for a concert by Thai artist Jimmy Sea.
Other targets included fans of international artists such as Got7, NCT, Day6, Blackpink, Seventeen, aespa, Twice, EXO, One OK Rock and Daniel Caesar.
The suspects were arrested in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom and Phuket. Items seized included 10 bank books, four mobile phones and a car.
Investigators said the suspects had clearly defined roles, including monitoring ticket release periods, advertising fake ticket sales, chatting with victims and sourcing and managing mule accounts used to receive and withdraw money.
The group used images of ticket bookings or e-tickets from other sellers on X, edited details such as buyer names and seat numbers, and added their own account watermark to make the listings appear credible before posting them to scam buyers.
They were found to be operating more than 350 accounts on the platform. After each successful scam, account names and user IDs were frequently changed to avoid detection and allow repeated offences.
Once victims transferred money, the group quickly moved the funds through multiple accounts, withdrew cash and distributed the proceeds among members.
Police said the operation had been running since late 2024.
