Ticketek hack sees ‘thousands’ of Australian Taylor Swift fans with fears over stolen tickets

Days before Taylor Swift is due to perform in Melbourne and Sydney, Ticketek has advised that it will establish pop-up booths at the singing star’s Australian concert venues to help field thousands of queries related to ticket scams and fraud.

The move follows reports some that customers had their Ticketek accounts hacked and their tickets listed and sold on resale site.

In a statement acknowledging the issue, a Ticketek spokesperson said it was “aware of (unauthorised) access to individual accounts” via “information that has been obtained from other sources”.

Multiple outlets have reported instances of people’s Ticketek accounts being hacked. Guardian Australia reported that the hackers deployed “credential stuffing” - guessing user passwords using data from other hacks shared on the dark web.

The spokesperson advised that Ticketek teams dealing with “thousands of queries” relating to fraudulent tickets or other scams, and are working “around the clock.”

Recommending that users change or update their passwords regularly to “safeguard their interests”, the spokesperson explained “if customers believe … the resale of their tickets was fraudulent, customers should immediately file a police report and contact Ticketek customer service so we can commence an investigation.”

The spokesperson went on to advise that if original ticket holders can prove they purchased the tickets, their information was legitimately compromised and the sale was fraudulent, the tickets “should revert to the original purchaser.”

Warnings of ticket scams and fraudulent resales have been widespread ever since the USA stat first announced the Australian leg of her The Eras tour in June.

The tour broke records when more than 4 million people tried to secure at least one of the 450,000 tickets on offer across five shows, taking place in Melbourne on 16th and 17th February, and Sydney on 23rd, 24th and 25th February 2024.

Ticketek will set up customer service pop-ups at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Accor Stadium in Sydney from the Wednesday before each show.

The spokesperson said its technology security team had already shut down a scam website that falsely claimed to be Ticketek’s Marketplace - the official resale platform.

The spokesperson added “the Ticketek team are constantly monitoring web and social channels to detect and remove any such sites.

“Unfortunately, these are indicative of the length unscrupulous fraudsters will go to capitalise on the Taylor phenomenon.

“We will continue to dedicate significant responses to ensure that real fans are protected.”

Earlier this month, Victoria Police issued a warning for customers to be wary of a social media ticket scam that had already resulted in Victorians losing $260,000.

Victoria Police revealed that scammers were hacking accounts and targeting the hacked profile’s friend list, deceiving desperate fans into a hurried purchase which appeared to be from someone they trust.

On Tuesday, National Australia Bank (NAB) said its customers had abandoned $285,000 in payments linked to potential ticket scams in the last three months.

Between mid-June last year, when the Australian leg of the tour was announced, and Monday, there have been 406 reports of scams to Scamwatch, with total losses equalling around $183,000.

Meanwhile, Frontier Touring announced a limited number of tickets would be released for sale on Tuesday, including restricted view tickets priced at $65.90.

Image: Taylor Swift. Credit: Shutterstock.