Tickets, e-vouchers and gift cards: the highest-risk resale category
Among everything traded on secondhand apps, tickets and vouchers have the highest scam rate. What changes hands is a right, not an object — it is harder to verify, and once it has been redeemed there is no way to get it back. This guide covers the specific risks in this category and how to protect yourself.
Last updated: 2026-08-31 · Near Dee
1. Why this category is riskier than physical goods
Concert tickets, flight tickets, restaurant vouchers and every kind of e-voucher share one trait: the same code can be sold to several buyers before anyone realises it is fake or already used. A single seller can send the same QR code to multiple people at once — whoever redeems it first gets in, and everyone else who paid has nothing physical they could have inspected beforehand.
2. Ticket resale rules in Thailand you should know
Terms for most concerts and large events prohibit reselling above face value, and some events tie the buyer's name to their ID card from the moment of purchase, making resale impossible under any circumstances, even by mutual agreement. Read the organiser's terms before agreeing to a resale — if entry is refused at the door, the organiser takes no responsibility for a private resale deal.
3. Verify directly with the issuer
Do not trust a screenshot of a ticket or QR code the seller sends you. Ask for the order number and contact the event organiser, ticketing platform, or the shop that issued the voucher directly to confirm the code has not been used and whose name it is registered under. For mall or restaurant gift cards, always call the merchant's hotline to check the remaining balance before you transfer money.
4. Safer ways to hand it over
For tickets scanned at the door, meet in person and scan the screen together before paying, or ask the seller to transfer the right through the platform's official function (many ticketing apps have a formal 'transfer ticket' feature) rather than sending a screenshot, since a screenshot can be reused and resent to someone else. For numeric voucher codes, wait to see the actual code together with proof of remaining balance from the merchant before sending full payment.
5. Red flags specific to this category
- The seller pressures you to pay first because 'someone else is waiting to buy it'.
- They refuse a call or video verification while holding the actual ticket.
- The price is far below face value for an event everyone wants to attend.
- A voucher is sold with no purchase receipt and no way to show the remaining balance from the merchant's own app.
6. What to do if you have already been scammed
Save every piece of evidence immediately: the chat history, the transfer slip, and any images of the ticket or voucher you received. Report the seller in the app with that evidence attached, file a report at your local police station to obtain documents needed for a bank freeze request, and contact your bank to request a freeze on the receiving account as fast as possible — the longer you wait, the less likely a recovery becomes.