A group of "Swifties" email accounts hacked; tickets stolen ahead of Taylor Swift concert in NOLA
Shay O'Connor
Reporter
A group of "Swifties" email accounts hacked; tickets stolen ahead of Taylor Swift concert in NOLA
A group of "Swifties" email accounts hacked; tickets stolen ahead of Taylor Swift concert in NOLA
IT LOOKS LIKE A PHENOMENAL PARTY THERE BEHIND YOU CASSIE. THANK YOU. AND FAN DEMONIUM AT CHAMPIONS SQUARE. CURRENTLY HUNDREDS OF SWIFTIES ARE IN LINE TO GET THEIR HANDS ON MERCHANDISE AHEAD OF THE THREE DAY CONCERT. YEAH, MERCH IS ALWAYS A BIG DEAL. TOMORROW NIGHT IS THE BIG SHOW. WDSU REPORTER SHAY O’CONNOR LIVE WHERE ALL THE ACTION IS HAPPENING AND SHAY, YOU TALKED TO SOME FANS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING SOME ISSUES WITH TICKETS. YEAH, BUT FIRST, BEFORE WE GET TO THAT, I JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU ALL THESE VERY LONG LINES. TRAVERS IS SELLING A LOT OF FANS OUT HERE. TELL ME THAT IT’S ALL ABOUT GETTING TO THE FRONT OF THESE LINES. IT MIGHT TAKE 2.5 HOURS, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY WORTH THE WAIT FOR THEM. NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, AS YOU JUST MENTIONED, SOME SWIFTIES ARE HAVING TO WAIT IN A DIFFERENT WAY WHEN IT COMES TO TICKETMASTER. AFTER THEY TELL ME THEY PURCHASED FOUR VERIFIED ON SALE TICKETS FOR THE ERAS TOUR LAST YEAR, ONLY TO RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION THIS MORNING THAT THEIR TICKETS HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED BY SOMEONE ELSE. IN OTHER WORDS, THEIR EMAIL AND TICKETMASTER ACCOUNT HACKED. NOW, THE GROUP OF FRIENDS ACTUALLY TELL ME THAT THEY PURCHASED THEIR TICKETS THROUGH ONE ACCOUNT. THEY ALSO TELL ME THAT THEY RESERVED AN AIRBNB AND EVEN BOUGHT THEIR PLANE TICKETS. ALL NONREFUNDABLE. THEY TELL ME THEY FINALLY GOTTEN IN TOUCH WITH TICKETMASTER AS OF LIKE FIVE MINUTES AGO. TRAVERS MACKEL AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO GET THEIR SEATS BACK. BUT AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS IS A VERY STRESSFUL TIME FOR THE FRIENDS WHO ARE ACTUALLY IN ROUTE TO NEW ORLEANS. AS WE SPEAK. YOU DON’T REALLY HAVE A CHOICE LIKE WE’RE WE’RE COMING. SO BUT YEAH, LIKE WE’VE PLANNED THIS FOR A YEAR AND WE’VE LIKE, LOOKED IN ONLINE AND LIKE ALL THE EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE CITY, WE’VE PLANNED OUR OUTFITS LIKE DOWN TO A T LIKE WE’VE LITERALLY DONE IT ALL. AND NOW WE’RE JUST KIND OF LIKE ALL OF THAT EXCITEMENT IS KIND OF LIKE GONE AWAY. AND EMMA AND HER FRIENDS AREN’T THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HACKED. I’VE ACTUALLY BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF CALLING TICKETMASTER MYSELF AND WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. OF COURSE, WE’LL HAVE MUCH MORE FROM HERE AT CHAMPIONS SQUARE
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A group of "Swifties" email accounts hacked; tickets stolen ahead of Taylor Swift concert in NOLA
A group of "Swifties" email accounts hacked; tickets stolen ahead of Taylor Swift concert in NOLA
Shay O'Connor
Reporter
A group of Swifties tells WDSU they purchased four verified on-sale tickets for the Eras Tour last year, only to receive a notification Thursday morning that their tickets had been accepted by someone else. In other words, their email and Ticketmaster accounts were hacked.The group of friends purchased their tickets through one account. They tell WDSU they have reserved an Airbnb, and have bought their plane tickets — all nonrefundable. They were finally able to get in contact with Ticketmaster after WDSU reached out on their behalf. Their tickets have since been restored. Ticketmaster sent the following statement on the situation: "Overall, our digital ticketing innovations have greatly reduced fraud compared to the days of paper tickets and duplicated PDFs. Having that digital history is also how we are able to investigate the situation and restore fans’ tickets. The top way fans can protect themselves is setting a strong unique password for all accounts – especially for their personal email which is where we often see security issues originate. Scammers are looking for new cheats across every industry, and tickets will always be a target because they are valuable, so Ticketmaster is constantly investing in new security enhancements to safeguard fans."s
A group of Swifties tells WDSU they purchased four verified on-sale tickets for the Eras Tour last year, only to receive a notification Thursday morning that their tickets had been accepted by someone else.
In other words, their email and Ticketmaster accounts were hacked.
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The group of friends purchased their tickets through one account. They tell WDSU they have reserved an Airbnb, and have bought their plane tickets — all nonrefundable. They were finally able to get in contact with Ticketmaster after WDSU reached out on their behalf. Their tickets have since been restored.
Ticketmaster sent the following statement on the situation:
"Overall, our digital ticketing innovations have greatly reduced fraud compared to the days of paper tickets and duplicated PDFs. Having that digital history is also how we are able to investigate the situation and restore fans’ tickets. The top way fans can protect themselves is setting a strong unique password for all accounts – especially for their personal email which is where we often see security issues originate. Scammers are looking for new cheats across every industry, and tickets will always be a target because they are valuable, so Ticketmaster is constantly investing in new security enhancements to safeguard fans."s