In an age where we pride ourselves on digital sophistication, the recent BTS ticket scam lays bare a uncomfortable truth: we remain as credulous as our medieval forebears. Thousands of British fans, desperate for a glimpse of their Korean idols, have reportedly lost fortunes to scammers in a ruthless ticket war. It is a tale as old as time, but dressed in the garish robes of the twenty-first century.
Let us be clear: the victims are not to be mocked. To be cheated is to be human. But to be cheated in such a predictable, almost theatrical fashion is to be a fool. These are not sophisticated hacks; they are the same old confidence tricks that have fleeced the unwary since the days of the Roman forum. The only difference is the currency and the object of desire. Then, it was amphorae of wine; now, it is a seat to see a boy band.
Consider the historical parallels. In the late Roman Empire, as decadence and desperation grew, so too did the prevalence of charlatans selling fake relics and forged documents. The Victorian era, with its cult of celebrity and nascent consumer culture, saw a similar boom in ticket touting and forgery. We are, it seems, in a period of intellectual and moral decay, where the frenzy for experience outstrips our capacity for caution.
The British authorities have issued a warning, as they always do. But warnings are for the wise; the passionate will ignore them. The scammers know this. They prey on the very emotions that make fandom a beautiful and terrifying thing: love, loyalty, and the fear of missing out. It is a cruel parody of the ancient concept of philia, twisted into a commercial transaction.
What is to be done? Not much, I suspect. We cannot legislate away human folly. We can only hope that these losses, painful as they are, teach a lesson that no government alert can convey. Perhaps the next generation will be more sceptical, more hard-headed. Or perhaps they will simply find a new idol to chase, and a new scam to fall for.
As for me, I watch this with the weary eye of a man who has seen too many cycles repeat. The BTS ticket scandal is not news. It is a reminder that beneath our glittering technology, we are still the same creatures who bought phony indulgences and fell for the South Sea Bubble. We are, in short, pathetic. But then, that is what makes us interesting.
