An estimated 70% of the Notes offered directly scalpers outside places are counterfeit. The failure of the police and concert organizers to have expelled or arrested vendors has raised allegations of collusion.
It is not only international acts that attract scam artists. When Ahmad Dhani Dewa reformed its group for a single show in Senayan, tickets are on sale for Rp.500,000 and quickly sold. Outside the stadium, fake tickets were sold openly Rp.850,000. To discourage counterfeiters, some official suppliers now offer vouchers which can then be redeemed against tickets.
The main tools to scam would-be spectators are , , online forums such as Kaskus, mobile phone text messages and fraudulent websites. Cyber scamming is cheaper than printing counterfeit notes, which may require special paper, inks, watermarks and holograms.
In the weeks before Justin Bieber performed at Sentul International Convention Centre in April 2011, two sites - some authentic, the other laughable - were set up to sell fake tickets. A account and pages, mimicking those of the official promoter, were also registered for direct fans to fake sites.
When poncy songster English Morrissey staged a show sold out in Jakarta last year, fans flew across Indonesia. A fan, Andre of North Sumatra, had bought two tickets via an online forum for Rp.800,000 each, to be informed about the places they were worthless.
The most popular of the artist, plus the cost of a counterfeit note. University student Farah Farizky saw 13 tickets to Jakarta concert of Jennifer Lopez announced in a thread on Kaskus. She paid Rp.29.9 million ($ 3000) for them and received nothing.
Sometimes not even the announced concerts are real. In September 2011, The Jakarta Globe published an article entitled "Metal Heads Rejoice: Motley Crue Headed to Jakarta. The report includes contact details for the seller of the Notes, which were priced cheap Rp.350,000. In one day, the US group said it had "no scheduled concerts anywhere in Indonesia ... The concert rumors are false ... and be wary of any advertising providers of ticket sales."
Despite this declaration, tickets remained on sale. Rollingstone.com reported that the fans were cheated out of about $ 60,000 "for a nonexistent concert mediated by a fake concert promoter." The promoter was the PT Mandiri music division Multi Live, which she has no money to provide immediate refunds. He also claimed that provocateurs Tweets Indonesia have scuppered the concert. The members of Mötley Crüe disagreed. "No, it's because the promoter is a bastard," said bassist Nikki Sixx Drummer Tommy Lee was just as brutal. "NOPE !! Shady f-ed that a promoter. "
Within weeks, online media reported that the American singer Bruno Mars was scheduled to perform at Sentul. His management agency warned announced the concert was a hoax and urged fans not to buy tickets sold online.
latest series ofSouth Korean boyband Super Junior Jakarta concerts sold out within hours. Fans who missed were furious with the developer to allow people to buy up to four tickets at a time, as scalpers were immediately offer dual price tickets. Java fans Dozens took a chance on scalped tickets offered online, only to find out later they had bought fake.
The victims are often reluctant to report to the police the scammers, fearing that they will have to pay even more money to recover their losses. 2012 Jakarta show Lady Gaga - canceled after threats of violence by the Islamic Defenders Front - led to a trial, but not in Indonesia. Its management is now pursuing insurers Lloyd's of London for not honoring the "terrorist policies" that would cover the cancellation fee.