In Taiwan, the laws governing the resale of tickets are strict. Consumers are allowed to resell tickets, but they can’t be sold for more than face value. If they sell for more, they will be breaking the Development of Cultural and Creative Industries Act and the Household Registration Act. For punishment, people will be fined 10 to 50 times the price of the ticket. This helps reduce scalping, although it doesn’t totally eliminate it.

G-Dragon performed in Taipei from July 11 to 13. All three shows were sold out, so the demand for his tickets was very high. Police were monitoring Facebook groups selling tickets and uncovered a scalping ring. A group of four people ended up making US$680,000 by scalping tickets for the Korean superstar.

The main culprit, a former private investigator named Lin, has been in the scalping business for three years. He acquired redemption codes from a scalping network in Hong Kong, and then sold them online for up to 12 times the original price. In the sting, authorities said Lin had obtained 1,500 codes for G-Dragon, totaling US$680,000 in profits. After the task force raid, they said the scalpers also had 500 codes for Blackpink’s upcoming concert as well.

While the authorities caught the scalpers this time, trying to keep up with technology is a full-time job.