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SM Entertainment and HYBE's sub-entertainment companies have issued a warning to fans about a fraudulent event that has been using the names of some of their artists. The event, known as the "Fest World Tour," claimed to be holding concerts in Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand featuring NCT DREAM, WayV, SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN, and MIRAE.
However, on February 3, PLEDIS Entertainment, the agency representing SEVENTEEN, and SM Entertainment, the agency representing NCT Dream and WayV officially announced that their artists will not be participating in the event. They also mentioned that they will take legal action against the unauthorized use of their artists' names.
BELIFT LAB, the agency representing ENHYPEN, also issued a similar statement, condemning the scam and reiterating that the group will not be participating in any such event.
Entertainment companies request netizens to wait for official announcements before booking tickets
In a statement given by Pledis, the company warned individuals that this was an "unauthorized event" and urged them to request a refund if they had already purchased tickets.
They said:
"SEVENTEEN does not participate in this event. We advise CARATs to be extra cautious and not to get adversely affected. Please request for a refund to the event organizer immediately if you have already purchased tickets to the above event. Our company does not hold responsibility for any damages that occurred by this event as it is an unauthorized event."
Pledis also assured fans that they would look into the issue and ensure those responsible for the chaos were punished.
They continued:
"We would also like to inform you that we will take legal action against such illegal and unauthorized attempts that infringe artist IP. We will continue to protect our artists’ rights. Thank you."
Meanwhile, SM True, the official SM News outlet, also released a statement condemning the "misleading and incorrect" information about their artists.
BELIFT LAB’s also sent out a notice to fans informing them that their artists and team had nothing to do with the fest.
The statement read:
"An unauthorized event that infringe ENHYPEN’s intellectual property has been announced online and we advise all ENGENEs not to be adversely affected."
They also advised fans to be cautious about such scams and purchase tickets through official sources to avoid such situations in the future.
Fandoms spread awareness to avoid scams
Fans around the world are making sure nobody gets duped by this fake festival. A netizen also noticed that the social media account for the "Fest World Tour" had been deactivated after individuals caught wind of what was going on.
The agencies' statements serve as a reminder that not all events claiming to feature popular artists may be legitimate, and it is important to verify the information before purchasing tickets.
