“The scam” worth hundreds of millions VND makes T1 fan community “scream”
For T1 fans in Vietnam, spending money to buy a membership slot for the team is not an easy task. The reasons may stem from both objective factors (complex payment methods while many fans are still students) and subjective factors (high prices beyond their spending capacity). This has become a “tool” for malicious individuals to exploit and commit fraud, as seen in the recent controversial case within the T1 fan community.
According to reports, the issue began when a T1 fangirl announced the formation of a group to share the benefits of using T1 membership. This method is similar to the popular Netflix or YouTube Premium sharing groups today. This fangirl successfully convinced over 500 people and divided them into different groups to purchase T1 membership rights. She even created a registration form and requested members to transfer money.
However, after receiving the full payment, the fangirl announced that her account had been hacked and began to use various tricks to delay the processing of members’ benefits. Additionally, according to some members, when complaints and inquiries arose, she reappeared and refunded some individuals to continue building trust.
But later, this person completely “vanished”, leaving no trace except for a name and profile picture (uncertain if it’s real) alongside the confusion and disappointment of the T1 fan community in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the total lost amount has been reported to exceed 200 million VND.
T1 May Also Be Indirectly Affected
In reality, scams based on the emotional attachment of fans towards their idols, players, or teams are not uncommon. However, this can be said to be one of the cases with the largest sum of money involved and the highest number of victims. According to updated information, the victims have reported the case to the authorities.
As for T1, they will not be too adversely affected. However, if the situation escalates and T1 becomes aware of the details, it is likely that in the future, the organization will tighten the policies on sharing membership benefits in groups. In that case, it will only be T1 fans in smaller areas like Vietnam who will suffer the most.